Four candidates run for president of Transnistria

The Central Electoral Committee of Transnistria registered Tuesday December 5 Andrei Safonov as candidate in the so-called presidential election in Transnistria, which will be held on December 10. Safonov, who is the editor of the opposition newspaper “Novaia Gazeta”, earlier sued CEC after the unrecognized electoral authority on the left bank of the Nistru had refused to register him. According to the press in Tiraspol, Safonov qualified his registration as a victory, but he called attention to the fact that the opposition lost time intended for the organization of the electoral campaign. He said CEC must be responsible for the violation of a candidate’s rights. The present unrecognized leader of Tiraspol Igor Smirnov, Nadejda Bondarenko, editor of “Pravda Pridnestrovia” newspaper, and Piotr Tomaili, a deputy in the so-called supreme soviet of Tiraspol, also run for president. Each candidate fielded a person for the position of vice president. Chisinau and the International Community have stated that the elections’ results will not be deemed valid.