“I hold my office as a result of a rigorous and transparent contest in which I participated because I genuinely want to help my country. Nobody promised me, nor guaranteed that I will become the winner of this contest”, stated Veronica Dragalin, Chief Anticorruption Prosecutor, in response to calls from opposition politicians for her to be dismissed.
Dragalin took to Facebook to defend herself, saying she is doing honestly her job as a prosecutor. “The corrupt understand this very well and feel frustrated. Even frightened”, she posted.
She went on to emphasize that she earned her position following an evaluation by a jury composed of Moldovan and foreign experts, who looked at her training, experience as a U.S. assistant attorney, as well as her strategy for fighting corruption in Moldova. “The preselection committee awarded me a score of 9.8 (compared to 7, 7.4 and 8.4 received by the other candidates”.
Dragalin said that attempts to intimidate her were made even as she was applying for the job. “Rumors were spread with a lot of zeal about my position as federal U.S. attorney, about me not being, in fact, an attorney. People who claim to be educated publicly questioned my training and experience, even though the information about my resume could be looked up online. In this respect, I formally asked the Higher Council of the Judiciary to clarify who was disputing my education and qualifications, but my request remained unanswered”.
Another line of attack against Dragalin claims that she got the job because her parents made contributions to the PAS campaigns. While admitting they did donate a total $2000 on two occasions, not exceeding the legal limit for individual contributors, Dragalin ridiculed the notion that that was enough to buy the post, assuming it was even possible. “The position is not for sale, nor can it be bought”, she emphasized.
Opposition politicians, in particular the Communists-Socialists and the Shor Party, have repeatedly accused Dragalin of becoming Chief Anticorruption Prosecutor following a pre-arranged selection process.
