President Maia Sandu withdrew Pavel Abraham, a member of the contest commission for choosing the ECHR judge on behalf of Moldova, who was named earlier by Igor Dodon, arguing she has reasonable doubts about his integrity. Abraham will be replaced by judge Viorica Puică, of the Chisinau City Court, IPN reports.

The announcement was placed by the President’s adviser on justice Olesea Stamate on Facebook, who argued the goal is to ensure the contest is held maximally transparently and correctly.

The Ministry of Justice announced the national contest to fill the post of ECHR judge on December 24. The 13 candidates are: Diana Scobioală, Marin Gurin, Vitalie Gamurari, Alexandru Prisac, Roman Zadoinov, Ion Cojocari, Lilian Moraru, Lilian Apostol, Vladislav Gribincea, Vladimir Grosu, Victor Burac, Gheorghe Mâțu, and Nicolae Eșanu.

In a closed-door meeting during the next ten days, the contest commission will decide who of the applicants will be invited to an interview. The list of these candidates will be published on the official website of the Ministry of Justice, immediately after the commission takes a decision.