The presidential election of October 20 will involve at most 15 candidates, if all those who have requested subscription lists will bring them filled in with signatures to the Central Election Commission. August 31 was the last day when it was possible to request the registration of initiative groups in support of candidates. So far, the CEC has registered 12 initiative groups and is examining three more requests. Former prosecutor general Alexandr Stoianoglo is the only one who brought the subscription lists with signatures to the Commission, IPN reports.

The 12 registered initiative groups are in support of the following aspirants for the position of President:

Ion Chicu, fielded by the Party for Development and Consolidation of Moldova;

Alexandru Stoianoglo, fielded by the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova;

Octavian Țîcu, fielded by TOGETHER Electoral Bloc;

Tudor Ulianoschi, fielded by a group of citizens;

Renato Usatyi, fielded by the Political Party Our Party;

Irina Vlah, fielded by a group of citizens;

Igor Munteanu, fielded by the Coalition for Unity and Wellbeing Political Party;

Maia Sandu, nominated by the Action and Solidarity Party;

Victoria Furtună, nominated by a group of citizens;

Andrei Năstase, nominated by a group of citizens;

Natalia Morari, nominated by a group of citizens;

Alexandru Arseni, nominated by a group of citizens.

The applications for the registration of initiative groups in support of Vasile Tarlev, supported by the Political Party “Party for the Future of Moldova”, in support of Avelin Tabarcea, supported by a group of citizens, and in support of Valentin Borodachi, supported by a group of citizens, are in the process of examination.

If the initiative group is registered, subscription lists are issued in order to gather at least 15,000 and at most 25,000 signatures from at least half of the number of second-level administrative-territorial units, i.e. from districts and the municipalities of Chisinau and Balti. The candidate is registered as a contender after the lists are checked and the signatures turn out to be authentic.

On Monday, a decision in this regard is to be taken about Alexandr Stoianoglo, whose group already submitted the subscription lists to the CEC.