Soares concerned about Moldovan opposition politicians being harassed by judiciary

The president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) Joao Soares is concerned that opposition politicians from Moldova are harassed by law-enforcing bodies during the electoral campaign. “We will closely investigate these claims and if they prove to be true, it will seriously discredit the April 5 elections,” Joao Soares told a news conference in Chisinau. Thursday, February 12, a delegation of the OSCE PA, headed by president Joao Soares, ended their three-day visit to Moldova, on the occasion of the start of the electoral campaign. Lately the General Prosecutor's Office has repeatedly interrogated leaders of Moldova Noastra Alliance, of the Liberal Democratic Party, of the Liberal Party suspecting them of different irregularities denied by those opposition politicians. Dozens of parliamentarians from the member countries of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will come to Moldova to monitor the fairness of the elections. “My colleagues and I will be closely watching the coming election campaign. It is my hope that this election will not only be free, but will also be fair,” Soares said. He specified that this means “equal access to the media, equal ability to campaign openly and equal application of justice to all candidates.” Joao Soares has said he has learnt about the harassment of opposition politicians from the meetings he has had with representatives of parliamentary factions, of extra-parliamentary parties and of the civil society. When asked by Info-Prim Neo about the attitude the OSCE observers are going to have as to the possibility of using administrative resources by the Communists Party (PCRM), since half of the Cabinet members are running for seats, the OSCE PA president has said it occurs everywhere. “But our main concern is to observe if the ruling party will profit from head positions in central and local administrations to get better results in elections. We have already some information, but we'll ponder it with our team coming next month,” Joao Soares said. The OSCE and its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights have observed the elections in Moldova since 1993 and had positive comments about all the elections, “with certain recommendations,” specified secretary general of the Parliamentary Assembly, Oliver Spencer.