On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Moldova’s Independence, IPN News Agency decided to depict the portrait of what the Republic of Moldova is like today. For the purpose, it provoked a number of people, including civil servants, politicians, businessmen, civil rights activists and persons without posts and titles, but who have what to say. The generic picture is called “Thoughts about and for Moldova”.
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Iurie Ciocan, incumbent member and ex-chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC): “During 25 years, my county didn’t grow mature. We remained small, with all the fears and complexes typical of the puerile age”.

For Iurie Ciocan, the Republic of Moldova, on the 25th anniversary of the declaration of its Independence, is a society and state that is still locking for its identity. It is a society and state that does not know what language its speaks and what history it has, which is afraid to assume the future because it does not yet know how to combine the freedom and responsibility, which believes that it still can survive at the mercy of those who are powerful, not by own work.

He didn’t choose Moldova as a home. It was the wish of his grandparents and parents who, during the last 70 years, at different crossroads in their life, decided not to leave this land eve if they were deported and then returned home. He considers that the biggest accomplishment during the 25 years of Independence is the fact that a war was prevented on the so-called own land. The biggest failure is the ‘slavery hope’ that we can be saved by someone else. Asked if there is yet hope, Iurie Ciocan said: “There is hope, but a layer of laziness and foolishness was deposited onto this and this layer is rather thick and prevents us from achieving our dreams promptly and rapidly. The hopes can be achieved only if we stop being lazy and foolish”.

The ex-CEC chairman has built a public career during 13 years. He said that if Moldova hadn’t been independent, he would have probably had another occupation. The influence on his life and career is evident and crucial. As regards the developments in the electoral sector, these are insignificant. “We became a state with a multi-party political system. We have a fragile electoral democracy where the power is changed by elections, not by revolutionary acts. The electoral activity in our country witnessed important evolution, while the collected knowledge and experience are and, I hope will be, a model for many states of the world,” stated Iurie Ciocan.

If a child asked him why he should be proud of being a citizen of Moldova, he would say that this can be proud of the fact that namely he can change the destiny of the whole country. “The children take the nation to a future. The richer the country is in traditions, authentic history and culture, the more proud are the children that they form part of a particular nation.”

To a person from abroad, he would say that the Moldovans from the Republic of Moldova have been robbed during the last 200 years. “They stole our property, history and identity and, by this theft, imposed on us pseudo-values that keep us hostage in an environment that is strange to us as a nation. My country is still looking for the own people,” concluded Iurie Ciocan.
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Iurie Ciocan has been a member of the Central Election Commission since 2003. In 2005-2011, he held the post of secretary, while in 2011-2016 he headed the Commission. Since 1999, he has taught at the Public Administration Academy under the Government, the International Law and External Policy Department. He holds the scientific title of Doctor of Political Sciences and the honorific title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the International Informatization Academy of the UN. He is a fully accredited BRIDGE electoral expert.

Elena Nistor, IPN

The articles of the series “Thoughts about and for Moldova” are published starting with July 18. Among the protagonists are: Dumitru Alaiba, Arcadie Barbarosie, Nicolae Botgros, Igor Dodon, Eugen Doga, Ghenadie Galca, Iulia Iabanji, Iurie Leanca, Petru Macovei, Ion Manole, Igor Meriacre, Andrei Nastase, Mariana Onceanu Hadaca, Victor Parlicov, Maia Sandu, and Valeria Seican.