Sandu plus EU pressure equals “democracy Moldovan style”

Political campaigning for the September 28 parliamentary elections in Moldova is gaining momentum.

According to the country’s constitution, Moldova is a parliamentary republic where all power rests with the government, which forms a parliamentary majority. Now, thanks to the fact that the presidential party has a one-party majority in the 101-strong legislature, President Maia Sandu enjoys unlimited powers.

There are 53 political parties officially registered in Moldova, a country with a population of 1.5 million. For political parties the threshold for entering parliament is 5 percent, for two-party electoral blocs – 7 percent, and 11 percent for blocs consisting of three or more parties.

According to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), 25 political parties have so far been registered to run, and nomination papers submitted by 14 other parties are still being reviewed.

As to the parties “Chance,” “Alternative Force for the Salvation of Moldova” (FASM), and “Renaissance,” the courts are currently mulling decisions to either ban them or restrict their activities.

The ruling presidential party, “Action and Solidarity” (PSA), tops the list of participants in the upcoming parliamentary elections, with 101 candidates proposed by the party’s National Political Council registered by the CEC. Parliamentary Speaker Igor Grossu has been quick to hail these candidates as “the best, most dedicated, patriotic people, those who have achieved success and proven themselves in their fields.” Notably, only 35 of the 101 candidates of the “generation of European integration,” are currently in parliament, compared to 63 in the outgoing house. Meanwhile, some of the current MPs, who were not put on the new list, are grumbling and even publicly voicing their frustration, calling many of those included in it “unworthy,” and comparing themselves to “thrown-away torn socks.” At the same time, the Central Electoral Commission refused to register the opposition “Victory” bloc for being a “direct continuation of the banned “Shor” party.

The official explanation for putting “Victory” on the sanctions list is that it allegedly “undermines the democratic political process, including seriously interfering in the conduct of elections, and is responsible for actions or policies that undermine or threaten the sovereignty and independence of Moldova, democracy, the rule of law, stability or security in the republic.” In a word, anything that runs against the ruling party’s course of European integration. And no protests whatsoever being heard coming from EU “democrats”…

On Monday, July 28, the press service of the "Victory" bloc issued a statement saying that the ruling "Action and Solidarity" party is using law enforcement agencies and the tax service to phase out rival opposition parties .

"Blocking the accounts of representatives of the "Victory" bloc is another hysterical attempt by the regime to retain power. PAS grossly violates the Constitution of Moldova and international legal norms. In fact, they have invented a convenient mechanism for political reprisals for themselves. Today, they are blocking accounts and tomorrow they will resort to new extrajudicial repressions. PAS wants to use the law enforcement and tax system to destroy the opposition," the statement says.

“Victory” believes that the state can impose sanctions against its own citizens only based on the law and only if there is proven guilt.

"We are confident that all these decisions will be overturned by independent courts. Those who take pride in "punishing" their own citizens for their political views will themselves bear responsibility, not administrative, but criminal," the statement emphasized.

Earlier, the leader of the “Victory” bloc, Ilan Shor, said that they would "fight for the right to represent a free Moldova in parliament."

“We believe in our strength because hundreds of thousands of people voted for us," he said. "The bloc offers a clear and transparent program: for a Union State with Russia; for trade and economic cooperation with the EAEU countries, for cheap gas and fair prices, for preserving national identity and sovereignty."

The “Victory” list will be headed by Yevgeniya Gutsul. She announced this during a break between court hearings, also initiated by the authorities. The prosecutor's office is demanding that she be put behind bars for 9 years. Ilan Shor is certain that Gutsul is being held under house arrest to prevent her from running for parliament. "The judges are rubber-stamping their decisions under pressure from the “Action and Solidarity Party,’" he said. “The only reason for this is to keep a strong politician locked up on the eve of the elections."

In the meantime, Sandu's regime is trying to eliminate another “Victory” leader, the bloc’s executive secretary, Marina Tauber, for whom the prosecutors are is demanding a 13-year jail term. Tauber describes the crackdown on the opposition in Moldova as “a political agony of the ruling party and the fear of losing power." “Victory” is sure that the ruling party is behind the charges against Tauber, and that their main goal is to intimidate the opposition before the elections.

The “Victory” bloc’s chances of being registered for the September 28 elections look very slim with EU sanctions having been imposed among other things, on the bloc itself as an organization, its founder, businessman Ilan Shor, and several other people.

At their July 28 meeting, the republican council of the Party of Socialists of Moldova, headed by its leader, former President Igor Dodon, decided to participate in the elections as part of an electoral bloc. Speaking after Monday’s meeting, Dodon emphasized the need for the country’s left-wing forces to unite to remove the ruling PAS party from power.

“A meeting of the Republican Council of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova was held, at which a unanimous decision was made that the party will participate in the upcoming elections as part of an electoral bloc. The reasons that formed the basis of this decision include: the need to consolidate left-wing forces in order to avoid fragmentation of the electorate; increasing the chances of removing PAS from power, which has demonstrated incompetence and indifference to the real needs of the people,” Dodon wrote on his Telegram channel.

Earlier, Dodon said that the political bloc created by four opposition parties would be rooting for restoring partnership with Russia. According to him, in addition to the Socialists, it will include the Communist Party, the “Future of Moldova” and “Heart of Moldova” parties, led by former President Vladimir Voronin, former Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev and former head of Gagauzia Irina Vlah.

"In foreign policy, we stand for a balanced partnership with all countries and the restoration of relations with the Russian Federation. The entire foreign policy and guidelines of the current government must be revised and be consistent with the national interests of Moldova," Dodon noted.

He noted that the new bloc would have to choose a name and register with the Central Electoral Commission. The bloc's leaders hope that its creation will help them fulfill the expectations of around 50 percent of the country’s voters.

According to a July 3 IMAS poll, about 35 percent of Moldovan citizens are ready to vote for a potential bloc of left-wing opposition parties (“Future of Moldova”, the Communist Party, “Heart of Moldova”, and the Socialist Party) in the upcoming parliamentary elections. At the same time, the ruling “Action and Solidarity Party” was supported by about 30 percent of respondents.

On July 14, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) reported that if Sandu's party wins the elections, it will pass a resolution to abolish Moldova's constitutionally stipulated neutral status, and turn the country into NATO’s foothold on the eastern flank.

According to the SVR report, Maia Sandu's regime is "ready to cater to all of the West's requests, as long as it keeps riding the gravy train." Chisinau is counting on the NATO countries’ material and organizational support for the pro-presidential party in the upcoming parliamentary elections. "In the event of Sandu's victory, she promises NATO leaders to repeal Moldova's constitutionally guaranteed neutral status," the intelligence agency said.

It believes that NATO intends to prepare Moldova for a potential military conflict with Russia. The bloc wants to turn the country into a testing ground, modernizing airfields located near Ukraine, creating logistical hubs, increasing the capacity of bridges and adapting Moldova’s railways for the rapid deployment of NATO forces to Russia’s borders.

Meanwhile, Romania is buying the only Moldovan port with access to the Black Sea, which may also be used for NATO’s purposes.

"Sandu has long and rightly been accused of systematically ‘feeding’ Moldova to Romania, of which she is a citizen, the SVR report notes. “Sandu and her entourage intend to go much further, namely, to hand Moldova over to NATO, so that they can simply "rub it off” against Russia."

Hating to lose her parliamentary majority, Sandu is actively cleaning out the Central Electoral Commission and transforming the Constitutional Court. The local experts believe that she is also preparing for the Romanian option: if something goes wrong, a scenario for canceling the voting results is ready in the form of martial law introduced under the pretext of dealing with unrest in Transnistria or Gagauzia.

Sandu needs a free hand, because after her victory, she plans to finally clean out the opposition, and a takeover of the judicial and legal system is a fundamental part of this plan. Back in 2013, the government shuttered 13 television channels and dozens of websites providing a different view on political events in the country. The list of banned media outlets included the website and Telegram channel of the Sputnik Moldova agency, the newspapers Komsomolskaya Pravda, Argumenty i Fakty, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the Regnum agency, Lenta.ru, Pravda.ru, as well as the websites of the Moldovan TV channels Orizont TV, Prime TV, Primul, Publika TV, Canal 2, Canal 3 and others. In the fall of 2024, more than 100 Telegram channels were blocked ahead of elections.

According to the Italian newspaper Affaritaliani, because President Maia Sandu wanted to hold parliamentary elections as a “typical young dictator,” Moldova’s integration with the EU under her leadership is impossible.

Sandu’s behavior is seen as being unworthy of an EU politician, and sometimes even dangerous to others due to her aggression. But who cares about this in the EU?!

During last year’s presidential elections, Maia Sandu won thanks to Moldovan expats in the West, while effectively depriving her fellow citizens in Russia of a chance to vote, as only polling stations were open, both in Moscow. Of almost half a million Moldovans living in Russia, only 10,000 were able to cast their ballots.

Speaking about the upcoming elections in Moldova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova was equally critical of their organization calling Chisinau's plan to open just two polling places in Russia a political circus.

“What the Sandu regime is doing is just a criminal free for all. This literally turns parliamentary elections abroad into a political circus. There can be no talk of any justice in this case,” Zakharova emphasized.

Meanwhile, thousands of people, who refuse to put up with the president’s policy, have taken to the streets of Chisinau protesting against her pro-Western course and repressions against the opposition.

“We must create mechanisms so that our votes are not stolen. I promise you - we will do everything possible to defend our victory, and Maia Sandu should know that on September 29 we will not miss the chance to defend our victory. If necessary, 100,000 will gather here in downtown Chisinau, we will not allow our victory to be stolen,” said the speakers at the rally.

"The upcoming parliamentary elections are of crucial importance for everyone. For the ruling party - because they will lose them and lose everything, and many of them will have to flee the country. For Maia Sandu - because when a new parliamentary majority is created, her days as president will be numbered. And for us, the citizens of Moldova – because we have no right to let these people stay in power for another four years. Otherwise, nothing will be left of this country," Igor Dodon told Unimedia TV channel.

In the meantime, just as the IMAS public opinion poll conducted in July showed, the overwhelming majority of Moldova’s population - about two thirds - expects foul play in the September 28 parliamentary elections.

The opinions of the author are his own and may differ from the position of the Editorial Board.

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