Before using the constitutionality instrument, the authorities of the Republic of Moldova should use the penal and administrative instruments with regard to the Șhor Party, political commentator Ilian Cașu stated in a public debate staged by IPN News Agency. According to him, the state institutions should determine the way in which the social stores that are used by the Shor Party as electoral instruments to attract the population work.
The political commentator noted the Moldovan fugitive politicians try to dodge the justice system, hiding behind the screen of democracy. Ilan Shor also uses the pro-democracy rhetoric to obtain delays in the examination of the cases featuring him.
“In Moldovan politics, those who were in power and robbed us subscribe to sacred values of democracy in order to escape justice and protect themselves with electoral democracy, human rights, multipartitism and European integration. This is a refuge, a lifebuoy for them. The Shor Party makes reference exactly to these values. This seems uncreative, puerile to me. They should invent something new,” stated Ilian Cașu.
He noted that before using the using the constitutionality instrument, the authorities should use the penal and administrative instruments with regard to penalize the Șhor Party for the committed abuses. The state institutions have instruments to determine the way in which the Shor Party’s activities are financed.
“When Minister Litvinenco announced the intention to obtain the outlawing of the Shor Party, a new social store was opened in Hâncești with brass band music. What does a social store mean for the life of the Shor Party? Furthermore, a load of bread that costs 1 leu was introduced at all the social stores. Social stores were also opened in villages where the mayors represent the PAS. This is an instrument to attract the population. Besides, Shor has a practice to change two lamps in a village and to pay thousands of euros for having this event promoted so as to give the impression that this party cares for the people. Don’t the state institutions wonder how a load of bread can cost 1 leu? The state institutions should determine who covers the difference,” explained the political commentator.
Ilian Cașu is the ex-deputy chairman of Our Party, which was excluded from the electoral race for the parliamentary elections of November 2014. He said that in 2014 the government committed an abuse and this fact was confirmed by the ECHR in 2020.
“The authorities are trying to have the Shor Party banned, but this is not the same as the exclusion of Renato Usatyi’s party from the race. In 2014, Our Party led by Renato Usatyi was illegally excluded from the competition so as to influence the election outcome and the balance of political forces in Parliament. An abuse was committed then. We went to the ECHR and this proved that the party was removed illegally,” stated Ilian Cașu.
The public debate entitled “Unconstitutionality of parties under rule of law: legality, benefits, risks?” was the 267th installment of IPN’s project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.