Of the 11 candidates who managed to collect the necessary signatures from voters, only one will take over the management of the country for the next four years. The decision will be taken at the polls on October 20. IPN News Agency provides a comprehensive description of each presidential election candidate, including their professional and personal background, held positions, declared income and property, as well as their promises for the future of the Republic of Moldova. Know the candidates, choose responsibly!

Octavian Ţîcu was nominated as a candidate for President by the Electoral Bloc “Together”.

He was born on August 21, 1972 in Costuleni village of Ungheni district. He has a doctor of history degree from “Al. I. Cuza” University of Iasi, Romania, obtained in 2000. He is an associate professor at the University of Bucharest and a coordinating scientific researcher at the Institute of History of the Moldova State University. He is an international boxing master, seven-time champion of the Republic of Moldova in boxing, a laureate of the National Youth Prize for Science and Literature 2004. He was awarded the “Civic Merit” medal in 2010 and the “Olympic Merit” medal in 2016.

In 2010, he was part of the Presidential Commission for the Study and Evaluation of the Communist Totalitarian Regime of the Republic of Moldova. Three years later, he was sworn in as Minister of Youth and Sports.

In March 2015, he joined the initiative group for the formation of the European People’s Party of Moldova. After the general local elections of June 14, 2015, he was elected district councilor in Ungheni on behalf of the electoral bloc “European People’s Platform of Moldova - Iurie Leancă”. In August 2015, he left the European People’s Party and also resigned as a district councilor.

Between 2019 and 2021, he sat in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, on behalf of the ACUM Bloc.

In 2019, he ran for the position of mayor of Chisinau, on behalf of the National Unity Party (PUN) whose chairman he was elected in December the same year. He also ran in the 2020 presidential election, ranking sixth. In December 2021, he quit as chairman of the PUN and withdrew from Moldovan politics.

At the beginning of August this year, the Political Bloc “Together” fielded him as a candidate for the office of President.

According to the property declaration for 2023, Octavian Ţîcu’s family earned incomes of over 111,000 lei, including 36,000 lei salaries from the Institute of History. Octavian Ţîcu owns an apartment with a reported value of 739,000 lei and a car worth 206,000 lei. He also has bank deposits of 51,000 lei and over €8,000.

In his election program, the candidate undertakes to unite the pro-European and unionist forces and to secure the path of European integration by creating a political alternative for the upcoming parliamentary elections. If he is elected President, he promises to stop the return of oligarchic forces and forces that are financially supported by the Russian Federation to power in the Republic of Moldova by punishing corrupt politicians and acts of illegal election campaigns financing, as well as to stop chaos and lawlessness, to eliminate impunity and to do justice.

European integration is, according to Octavian Ţîcu, the main development course of the Republic of Moldova. Together with the team, the candidate undertakes to implement the criteria for the integration of the Republic of Moldova into the European Union, to respect the principles of democracy, to ensure free and fair elections, and also to respect the human rights and the freedom of the press.

Peace, security and defense – these are three goals that he aims to achieve by equipping and preparing the national army, but also by cooperating with North Atlantic institutions. As a country project, Octavian Ţîcu aims to stop depopulation and ensure demographic growth. This objective is to be achieved with the help of the diaspora - the main supporter of the prosperity of the Republic of Moldova – and also through a National Human Development Program of the Republic of Moldova for 2025-2040.

The candidate believes that a strong and diverse economy is the key to a prosperous life at home. Octavian Ţîcu aims to support domestic producers in all sectors of the economy through tax breaks, subsidies, preferential loans and broad access to export markets. If he is elected, he commits himself to creating and maintaining a well-functioning and stable economic system, a market economy that can cope with competition within the EU.

Octavian Ţîcu also undertakes to connect education to European principles, to invest in research, to increase health allowances and to modernize healthcare institutions. As for the Transnistrian conflict, he considers the solution must be in in accordance with the national interest of the Republic of Moldova.

The candidate strongly condemns the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine and will promote the policy of supporting Ukraine in the fight for its independence and territorial integrity, as well as stronger relations with Romania. “We want to be by Romania’s side in the European Union. We share with Romania the same space of history, language and culture. We see Romania as our main partner and ally on the path of European integration,” said Octavian Țîcu.

On the ballot for the October 20 presidential election, Octavian Ţîcu is under No. 8.