Conservative Party suggests holding legislative and local elections simultaneously

The Conservative Party considers that the parliamentary and local elections should be held the same day next spring. In a news conference on September 20, the party’s chairwoman Natalia Nirca said a sum of 40 million lei would be saved if the elections took place simultaneously, Info-Prim Neo reports. “Besides, the governors will have more time at their disposal to implement the initiated reforms and programs. They always complain that they do not have enough time to carry them out. We will now give them one more chance to show that they are able to govern,” Natalia Nirca stated. The Conservative Party says Moldova will incur a number of risks if the early legislative elections take place in November, as announced earlier. One of the risks is that the turnout of voters will be lower than required, as in the September 5 constitutional referendum. Another risk is that the new Parliament will not be able to elect the head of state again and the electoral cycle will go on. According to Natalia Nirca, about 200 million lei was spent on elections last spring and last summer and on the plebiscite this month. This is a lot for Moldova, the party’s leader said. The Conservatives believe that the Government and the Opposition are on irreconcilable positions and prefer to maintain the present state of affairs in order to be able to use negotiation and blackmailing schemes in the next Parliament, when the head of state will have to be elected. The party’s deputy chairwoman Zinovia Zorina urged the political players to formulate clear messages for the voters. “If the candidates convey lucid and well-defined messages to the voters, the elections will take place. But if they use the same methods as in the campaign for the referendum, the elections may fail,” she said. The Conservative Party announced they will take part in the elections no matter when they are held. Last weekend, Acting President Mihai Ghimpu said the early parliamentary elections could take place on November 28. Moldova has not had a President for over a year.