The former prime minister Ion Chicu, of the Moldovan Development and Consolidation Party, and the former Gagauz governor Irina Vlah, running independent, today were cleared by the Central Electoral Commission to enter the presidential race.

Chicu’s team brought 22,819 signatures and Vlah presented 25,003 signatures in her support. With a few deemed invalid, this was more than enough in both cases to clear the 15,000-signature minimum.

While authorizing Vlah’s candidacy, the CEC said it will further investigate alleged early campaigning activities by her team as well as potential campaign financing irregularities.

As of Saturday, six presidential candidates have been successfully registered, as six the submissions of six others are still under examination.

Also today, the CEC denied registration to PACE Party as a referendum campaigner, while registering the AUR Party as a “yes” campaigner.