Chisinau Interim Mayor steps down for the period of the election campaign

Interim mayor of Chisinau municipality Veaceslav Iordan was temporarily relieved of office for the period of the election campaign preceding local elections scheduled for June 3. Iordan runs for Chisinau Mayor General, on behalf of the Party of Communists. The secretary of the Chisinau Municipal Council, Nicolae Manastarli told Info-Prim Neo that Iordan was discharged from office on Monday, April 23, upon Iordan’s request. According to the electoral legislation, candidates may be relieved from their job duties throughout the electoral campaign, and according to the Local Authorities Law, in case the mayor can not fulfil his duties, he is replaced by a deputy mayor, Manastarli added. According to him, the office will pass to Petru Svet. Petru Svet is the fourth interim mayor who holds this office in less than two years after Mayor Serafim Urecheanu left. The first one was Mihai Furtuna, replaced by another deputy-mayor, Vasile Ursu. After Ursu was appointed to the office of Minister of Transport, the ad interim duties were carried out by another deputy-mayor, Veaceslav Iordan, a former communist councillor. According to article 46 (3) of the Electoral Code, candidates may be relieved from their job duties at their normal place of employment throughout the electoral campaign. According to an amendment made by the Parliament to the Electoral Code on March 23, the candidates will not receive the average salary anymore in case they are discharged for the period of the election campaign.