Thousands of people came together in the Great National Assembly Square on July 1 to take part in the protest mounted by the National Resistance Committee of the people’s movement with the same name. The protesters demanded to validate the results of the early local elections held recently in Chisinau, to hold accountable the judges who took the invalidation decisions and to annul the mixed electoral system introduced last year. After protesting in the central square of the capital city for several hours, the participants went on a march to the head office of the Democratic Party and then returned to the square, chanting “Down with dictatorship!”, “Down with the mafia!”, “Go to jail!”, “Nastase is the mayor!”, “We will not give up!”, IPN reports.

The leader of the Party “Action and Solidarity” (PAS) Maia Sandu said after the last protest mounted in central Chisinau things have worsened despite people’s protests and the harsh messages transmitted by the West, saying the elections should be validated. “For the first time since the declaration of independence, the elections were nullified. For the first time, none of the state institutions tried to put up resistance. All the institutions fulfilled the abusive orders of Plahotniuc. This means the start of dictatorship! The regime declared war on us, the citizens. It declared war on democracy and we do not exaggerate,” she stated. The politician noted that the protest with such a large number of participants is a very clear message for the government and the development partners.

“In 1989-1991 we had the power to rise against another regime in the same National Square where we could show to the others that we want another future, a future that wasn’t as happy as we expected, to our regret. But we rose against the same government on April 7, 2009 too. I’m tired of new starts as you are,” stated historian Octavian Ticu, adding that a large number of people came to support democracy and today Chisinau gives a lesson to Europe in this regard.

Director of the Institute for Development and Social Initiative “Viitorul” Igor Munteanu noted that the Republic of Moldova became a ‘sick’ member of the Eastern Partnership as it no longer enjoys credibility as to what the government that became nonfunctional says, while the judiciary promotes rather group interests. The court invalidated the free vote of the citizens and this wouldn’t have happened if the justice sector reform had been real, not mimicked. Fear for an alternative, for the opposition can be seen behind these court decisions.

“The right to resistance against oppression is a fundamental right of a people, as the freedom and safety are. A subdued people has the right and moral obligation to resist. The people of the Republic of Moldova has the right and obligation to take the power back. We came here today to say it loudly and firmly: no to dictatorship!”, said the executive director of the Institute for Strategic Initiatives Vlad Kulminski.

“The stealing of the vote in Chisinau is the apogee of an offense aimed at transforming our country into a marionette. The usurpation of power in the state started with the destruction of all the elective bodies of the state – Parliament was sold and bought, the local authorities were robbed by this government, the President was chosen by fraud and lie. We are not the marionettes of this usurper called Plahotniuc. Be afraid, the country is rising!”, said the representative of the Liberal Democratic Party, journalist Ion Terguta.

Editorialist Vitalie Ciobanu said all the rulers that governed after the 1990s promised that the population of the Republic of Moldova will live as all the free, prosperous and democratic nations and promised many other things, but nothing was done. The invalidation of elections, which are a free and democratic exercise, is the climax of cynicism, insensitivity and disrespect for the people.  

Mayor-elect Andrei Nastase, the leader of the Party “Platform Dignity and Truth”, said people from all the country’s regions, not only from Chisinau came to the protest, because this protest is not only about Chisinau or a term in office, but is about the whole country, the future of the country and the next generations. By nullifying the elections and by introducing the mixed electoral system, criminals Plahotniuc and Dodon want to transform the people into slaves.

“We are many here today, but will be more tomorrow. Now that we launched this National Resistance Movement, I invite you to organize yourself in each village around the mayor, the priest or the intellectually – doctors or teachers. Let’s constitute civilian resistance cells,” urged Andre Nastase. 

Dan Perciun, the leader of the PAS youth organization, said last week they still hoped that Moldova will not collapse into dictatorship and a minimum appearance of twisted democracy will be kept in the country, but after the Supreme Court of Justice and the Central Election Commission pronounced, it became clear to everyone that dictatorship is being established in the country. “We came together here today not for a party and not for a political leader, but for each of us to defend our basic right to vote and our right to change a government that does not represent us. We will protest peacefully, in a civilized way and will defend our rights till the end,” stated the young man, noting that similar protests were mounted abroad by the Moldovan diaspora.

The protesters adopted a resolution by which they demanded to validate the Chisinau early local elections, to annul the mixed electoral system and to hold accountable the judges who decided to invalidate the elections. The document says that if the government does not take immediate measures to fulfil the demands during the current session of Parliament, peaceful civil disobedience actions will be taken. A General Assembly of Citizens from the country and the diaspora was scheduled for August 26. The resolution adopted in the protest is to be submitted to the European Parliament.

The representatives of the National Resistance Committee announced they will travel to the country’s localities as from July 2 to organize a number of events and called on the people to join in.

The wave of protests started on June 19 when the Chisinau City Court decided to not validate the early mayoral elections and the invalidation was later upheld by the Appeals Court and the Supreme Court of Justice. Afterward, the Central Election Commission nullified the early mayoral elections held in Chisinau municipality on May 20 and June 3 (runoffs).

The police estimated the July 1 protest involved about 7,000 people, while the organizers said there were tens of thousands of people at the demonstration.