The victory scored by Ion Ceban in Chisinau represents a blow to the fortress of pro-European views, while Moscow won the battle for the capital city of the Republic of Moldova, said Watchdog expert Valeriu Pașa. For his part, expert Vlad Kulminschi said it will be hard to replicate Ion Ceban’s victory in the mayoral election at the presidential election of 2024 as a country project and a clear political identity need to be presented in that campaign prior to those elections, IPN reports.

Vlad Kulminschi noted that Ion Ceban won the mayoral election because he had a balanced campaign during which he resented himself as an efficient manager of the problems experienced in the city. This political strategy cannot be applied at next year’s presidential election and at the 2025 parliamentary elections.

“Ion Ceban first of all didn’t take part in any of the debates. He avoided controversial things. He vaguely spoke about his political identity and this strategy worked as everyone saw him as a good manager who changed things in Chisinau. But something like this will not work at the presidential election and at the parliamentary elections. He will have to develop his political identity and to say what he intends to do with the country. The PAS remains the only pro-European party with real chances of entering again Parliament, of leading a possible coalition,” the director of the Institute for Strategic Initiatives Vlad Kulminschi stated in the program “In Depth” on ProTV Chisinau channel.

Watchdog expert Valeriu Pașa said Ion Ceban managed to transfer his imagine to his National Alternative Movement Party (MAN) and got 20 seats of councilor on the Chisinau Municipal Council. The Party of Action and Solidarity obtained the best electoral score in 19 districts, but this does not mean that the PAS will take over in all these districts.

“Moscow’s victory is in Chisinau. The blow was given directly to the fortress of pro-European views. The MAN obtained the best score for the Chisinau Municipal Council and this thing wasn’t anticipated by any of the polls. On election day, owing to the support enjoyed by Ion Ceban, the support for the MAN also grew and the MAN managed to attract these votes right from supporters of the PAS. This is the most important victory of Russia’s interests in the Republic of Moldova. In at least half of the district councils, I’m sure that the PAS will take part in administration, but everything will depend on their negotiation capacity. The fact that the PAS is ahead in many districts doesn’t mean that they won. Those who manage to form coalitions at district level win,” stated Valeriu Pașa.

According to the preliminary results presented by the Central Election Commission, the National Alternative Movement’s candidate Ion Ceban won the mayoral election with 50.62% of the vote. He was followed by the Party of Action and Solidarity’s candidate Lilian Carp with 28.23% of the poll.