The state of emergency was prolonged for another 60 days as from October 2. A relevant draft decision was adopted in Parliament on Thursday. The state of emergency will not affect the organization and conduct of elections on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, IPN reports.

In Parliament, the draft decision was presented by Minister of the Interior Adrian Efros. The official said that in connection with the regional instability and Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, the state of emergency should be extended. “The risks to the security of the Republic of Moldova are persistent and real. The Russian armed forces have intensified the attacks with cruise missiles and drones on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and the supply of electricity to our country can be disrupted,” stated Adrian Efros.

He noted that under the state of emergency, the authorities will be able to take preventive measures, to strengthen the country’s energy security and to protect the technical infrastructure. The high risks in the field of cybersecurity and information security should also not be ignored.

At the beginning of the sitting, the MPs of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists asked to exclude this draft decision from the agenda. Their proposal wasn’t supported and they left in protest. But Communist MP Diana Caraman returned when the proposal to prolong the state of emergency was being debated, accusing the proposal authors of violating the law as they didn’t present a report on the previous periods under the state of emergency and didn’t provide justified arguments why the state of emergency should be extended.

In his speech, PAS MP Radu Marian said their group supports the initiative to prolong the state of emergency, but called on the Cabinet to think up legislative instruments that could be implemented outside the state of emergency.

The draft decision was adopted by the votes of 57 PAS MPs.

The state of emergency was declared on February 24, 2022 and has been extended since then, the last time at the end of July.