EU Delegation Head Peter Michalko says it is up to political forces in Moldova to decide how they are going to continue the political process based on the electoral outcome, as the European Union doesn’t have preferences for particular politicians or political forces as far as government formation is concerned.
“Our relationship with Moldova is built on our dialog with the authorities, which is based on elections, and with a Government, which is a product of elections, as well as on the agenda that we have together with the Republic of Moldova based on our Association Agreement”, Peter Michalko told a program on the national broadcaster Moldova 1.
At the same time, the diplomat said the EU is closely watching how Moldova fares on its commitments in the fields of democratic standards, rule of law, economic growth, commercial cooperation, and other reforms that are crucial for improving people’s lives.
Peter Michalko says that for the EU it is important that the future Government commits in its program to implementing the Association Agreement. “It is not for us to put forward concrete measures, it is a role for domestic politics. But we do pay close attention to standards, democracy and the rule of law, which are also the commitments of Moldova”.
According to the EU envoy, the election monitoring report from the international mission showed the elections were competitive and rights were overall respected, but this report should be read in its entirety. It also includes complaints of violations – allegations of pressure on public employees, of vote buying practices and other issues like access to the mass media.
“Before these elections, in the context of changes made to the Election Code, both the Venice Commission and the OSCE provided a list of recommendations, and not all of them were taken into account. Those recommendations pointed to some issues that have largely been confirmed during the elections”, stated Michalko.
As for the allegations that scores of voters from the eastern side of the Nistru River were transported to the polls in an organized fashion, the EU envoy said that, according to the OSCE, there were strong indications of vote buying in this case. “The authorities should investigate those allegations, and these weaknesses and potential violations should be prevented from repeating themselves in the future”.
