Freshly fired by the City Council from the post of acting mayor earlier today, Ruslan Codreanu said Chisinau will thrive only when its administration becomes politics-free.

Addressing journalists, Coreanu said that when he became a councilman four years ago he discovered that the city government was “full of extremes”. “One one side you find great, dedicated and committed people, and on the other there’s the hypocritical, sticky-fingered and corrupt lot.”

“When I took the executive job in the City Hall, I put an end to all political speculation and all I wanted to do was to keep problems under control and modernize the city,” Codreanu told a press briefing.

He stated that his administration demonstrated that the municipal budget “can be used in the interest of the city”, as he managed to repair six kindergartens in one year, beautify squares and parks, rehabilitate sports grounds, playgrounds and courtyards. Codreanu also mentioned medical equipment purchases for hospitals and repaired roads among his achievements.

Ruslan Codreanu replaced Silvia Radu as acting mayor on 25 April 2018 after she decided to run for mayor in the snap elections of the summer of 2018.

The City Council has appointed its secretary, Adrian Talmaci to act as caretaker mayor after firing Codreanu and deputy mayor Nistor Grozavu.

Local elections will take place on October 20.