The lawsuit that ended in Marina Tauber’s removal from the Bălți mayoral race was a “complete fabrication”, there was no direct evidence to support the allegations that she had exceeded the maximum allowed costs of campaigning, while the judges failed to hear key witnesses, says lawyer Aureliu Colenco, who has represented the Shor Pary candidate in court.

During a press conference, Colenco and his colleagues complained of “blatant” procedural violations. For example, copies of the case presented to the defense team were “hardly legible” and the lawyers were given very little time to prepare. Moreover, the lawyers say they didn’t receive a satisfactory answer as to who collected the evidence.

Denis Calaida, another lawyer for Tauber, declared that the courts ignored the principles of a fair trial. “The court’s only goal was to meet a deadline and issue a ruling before election day”.

Vadim Banaru, a Shor Party representative and also a lawyer, says that “the worst thing is that someone will have to answer” for the suspension of the December 5 runoff. The lawyers are preparing to file a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights and are positive they will win.