Hyde Park, worried about discrimination of independent candidates

The civic association “Hyde Park” is worried about the discrimination of independent candidates for the Moldovan parliament. “In in local elections very many independents reach to be mayors or councilors, we have but party members in the parliament, who represent the interests of large social groups,” said Parascovia Topada, the president of the NGO, at a news conference in Info-Prim Neo's quarters. “Although the Constitution and the Election Code expressly state that every citizen has the right to elect and be elected, in fact we find this right to be only on paper. There is no real leverage to enable a citizen to enter the parliament, without being part to a political structure,” says Ghenadie Brega, a member of the civic association. He wanted to become an independent candidate, but failed to collect the minimum of 2,500 signatures to be registered by the Central Election Commission (CEC). After filling in the lists, the candidates shall have them stamped by the local authorities of the localities in which they collected the signatures. Ghenadie Brega considers this provision of the Election Code to be very hard to accomplish. Since the declaration of Independence, no independent passed over the threshold to enter the parliament. “The main obstacle is the percentage necessary to become a deputy,” explains a press release by Hyde Park. The NGO suggests the future parliament to lower the electoral threshold for independent candidates from 3% to 1%. “This would mean equal chances for all the citizens and parties, so the parliament will be represented by all the opinion schools, all the social groups,” said Parascovia Topada. Hyde Park was founded in 2003 by 88 citizens pursuing to promote the freedom of expression and the right to unbiased information.