The Central Electoral Commission suspended the registration of the initiative group supporting the presidential bid of former prime minister Vasile Tarlev.

While Tarlev was formally nominated by a group of citizens to run as a non-affiliated candidate, the CEC found that his initiative group was gathering signatures under the banner of the Party for the Future of Moldova, of which Tarlev is president.

As CEC member Mircea Catîrău told reporters, the initiative group said that Tarlev had suspended his capacity as president, delegating his duties to a vice president. However, in the online records of the Public Services Agency, Tarlev is still registered as president of the party.

As a result, the CEC decided to renew the administrative procedure for examining the request regarding the registration of Tarlev’s initiative group.