The invalidation of the Chisinau mayoral elections was a diversionist exercise of the power that could repeat at the parliamentary elections so that particular inconvenient persons are prevented from running. The local elections showed once against that Moldova is a captured state and the voters should understand that their mobilization is now important more than ever. The theses were presented in a conference that centered on the consolidation of confidence in democratic processes that was held in Chisinau on August 2, IPN reports.
According to the vice president of the Liberal Party Valeriu Munteanu, the invalidation of the Chisinau mayoral elections is an unprecedented act. There are all the preconditions and the power has sufficient instruments for rerunning the exercise performed in Chisinau at the parliamentary elections. This is possible by applying the law that is rather flexible as regards the issuing of integrity certificates. These will be issued if the person is considered sufficiently able to run in the parliamentary elections in the interests of the power and the law could be interpreted in the case of persons who are inconvenient to the power. “The citizens should understand that the responsibility for the invalidation of elections is borne by the government and is not an accident of justice. I’m convinced that we can move on only by combining forces so as to strengthen democracy in Moldova,” stated Valeriu Munteanu. He noted that the government, represented by the PDM-PSRM duo, is trying to divide the opposition into several parts so as to make the citizens’ choice more difficult and make their burden heavier.
The leader of the Party “Platform Dignity and Truth” Andrei Nastase, whose election as mayor of Chisinau wasn’t validated, said he anticipated that the elections will not be validated. “The names of the three vulnerable judges were known before the case reached them. This is inadmissible in a justice system that claims to be European,” stated the politician. He noted that the whole world now understands that Moldova has to deal with an individual who conquered all the institutions, including the press and this is the most serious thing as the freedom of expression cannot be guaranteed. “Democracy in Moldova was killed as was the hope of many Moldovans who chose this summer to go abroad. I hope we will manage to combine forces and exert pressure on the government in a democratic way,” stated Andrei Nastase. He noted that at least his non-admission to the parliamentary elections is being planned and this fact was confirmed by Prime Minister Pavel Filip during discussions with functionaries in Strasbourg.
Promo-LEX Association director Ion Manole said the Association’s volunteers find it increasingly difficult to discuss the necessity of taking part in elections, the importance and power of their vote with people in localities. “The people’s confidence is much lower and Moldova’s depopulation is making the prospects gloomier as the active citizens leave. We should realize that nothing is lost yet and the citizens should understand that they need to mobilize,” he stated. According to Ion Manole, if the parties can persuade the people that they have the force needed to change things in the country, they will gain votes. “As a citizen, I expect to see powerful parties with internal democracy. Then we, as voters, will have the wish to take part and that hope. Now we do not have solid parties and competent persons at central and local levels.”
The Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Peter Michalko reiterated the EU’s position on the issue, saying that what happened in Chisinau is an unprecedented development. The EU is attentive to what is going on in the country and the adoption of the mixed election system last summer attracted the attention of the main EU institutions. “As the recommendations of the Venice Commission weren’t respected, the political pre-conditionality was introduced in the Memorandum of Understanding for macro-financial assistance and the move was aimed at preventing the risk in the electoral process. The pre-conditionality was applied and the provision of macro-financial assistance wasn’t possible,” stated the ambassador, adding the EU and the member states know very well what is going on in Moldova and see that some of the problems, like the freedom of the press, have persisted for years.
The conference “Consolidation of confidence in democratic processes: legal and political challenges in the Republic of Moldova” was staged on the initiative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the Institute for Development and Social Initiative “Viitorul”.
