CHISINAU, November 5. Opposition party in Moldova «Chance» will demand the cancellation of the results of local elections and their recognition as invalid, the press service of the political formation reported.
On Friday, the head of the Information and Security Service of Moldova, Alexandru Mustiata, presented a report according to which the Chance party is a reorganized Sor party, banned in Moldova. According to him, there is significant evidence of corruption of voters by representatives of political forces, and illegally obtained funds from abroad were allegedly used for this. Musteată said that he handed over the answer to the prosecutor’s office and the Central Election Commission so that they could decide the future fate of the party. Later, the country's Prime Minister Dorin Recan issued a statement that the government's Commission for Emergency Situations (CoES) decided to cancel the registration of electoral competitors registered from the Chance party in the local elections on November 5, in the interests of national security. He emphasized that we are talking about the removal of not a political party, but a criminal group supported by politician and businessman Ilan Shor. The Central Election Commission of Moldova took note of the decision of the CoES and decided, no later than 18:00 on November 4, to stamp “Dropped out” on all ballots to all electoral competitors from the political party “Chance”.
“Taking into account serious violations, the unlawful exclusion of a strong competitor from the elections, and abuses by election authorities, we believe that these local elections cannot be considered free, fair and democratic. In this regard, we will demand the cancellation of the election results and their recognition as invalid,” it says in the party message.
The political formation considers the decision of the emergency commission to be “illegal and unlawful.” The party challenged the CEC order in court. “After a number of delays associated with the refusal of judges to participate in this process, and attempts to shift responsibility to other authorities, the consideration of the case has finally begun… The election dispute is not over yet. Representatives of the CoES are deliberately delaying the process, as a result of which by the beginning of voting day we do not have a court decision,” the message explained.
The party also drew attention to the fact that “in accordance with legislative norms, after challenging the act of deregistration, it is considered suspended by right and cannot be executed until a final decision is made.”
In Moldova, the opposition has been holding anti-government protests for more than a year, insisting on the resignation of the Cabinet and President Maia Sandu, who is the informal leader of the ruling Action and Solidarity party. The demonstrators accuse the country's authorities of failing to cope with the crisis in the economy and energy sector, as well as putting pressure on the opposition. As a result of the actions of the authorities, the opposition party «Shor» was banned in the country; representatives of a number of other political formations, including the Socialist Party, the «Renaissance» and «Chance» parties, regularly face searches and detention of their supporters.
On Sunday, residents of the republic elect mayors of localities, as well as members of district, city and village councils for the next four years. According to the legislation of Moldova, local elections in each of the country’s settlements will be recognized as valid if more than a quarter of the citizens included in the electoral lists take part in them. Polling stations will close at 21.00 (22.00 Moscow time).