A political scandal in Republic of Moldova!

Opposition politician Marina Tauber has allegedly been excluded from standing in the elections at the last moment because of a possible political order by President Maia Sandu.

Spirits are heating up in the Republic of Moldova, where the weak Moldovan democracy seems to have received a new blow. The ruling party found itself in the midst of a major scandal, after it was accused of putting pressure on the Central Electoral Commission to remove from the electoral race the candidate of an opposition party, listed with overwhelming chances of winning the position of mayor of Balti, the second largest city in the country.
October 26, 2021. Marina Tauber, a member of the Chisinau Parliament from the opposition political party "Party SHOR”, registered in the race for Balti municipality on the last day on which the documents for registration could be submitted.

The decision took many people by surprise, because until then the "Party SHOR" had not announced its intention to field a candidate. An intense campaign ensued, and on November 21, when the elections were held, Tauber came very close to winning the first round, missing only about 900 votes to win.

It was only after Tauber won the first round with almost 50 percent of the vote,  the appeals from the police and opponents began to flow in. A CEC hearing followed this week, which found that Marina Tauber should be excluded from the race and asked the court to cancel her registration in the election. And the reason given by the CEC for exclusion from the election is that "the candidate did not declare the expenses for what the activists ate during the election campaign", a provision that is not found in the Moldovan Electoral Code, and no electoral candidate, in any  election campaign organized before in Moldova, did not declare such expenses.

Moreover, the alleged violations were recorded in the campaign of the first ballot, which was correctly declared by the same Central Electoral Commission.
Immediately after the CEC decision, there was a wave of criticism from opposition parties, political analysts and civil society, who described the decision of the electoral body as an abuse and a political order from the ruling Party PAS and the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu.

The former Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Ion Chicu, condemned the CEC decision and described it as an anti-democratic deception.

"I know that in PAS there are also normal people, good in the normal sense of the word. Colleagues, stop Maia. She is burying, she is burying the citizens of Moldova, she is burying our country. We vehemently condemn the yellow dictatorship's attack on the right of the people of Balti to elect their mayor freely and democratically, “ said the former prime minister. “We call for the emergency intervention of the Ambassador of the European Union in Chisinau and of the entire diplomatic corps to stop the anti-democratic deception practiced by Maia Sandu and her dictatorial party "

Mariana Durlesteanu, the former Minister of Finance, the current President of the Law and Justice Party, described the request to cancel the registration of Marina Tauber as a circus of the absurd, a thirst for power and boundless arrogance.

"A campaign of cynicism and hypocrisy of those who lead the Republic of Moldova. What we see today is total madness, a circus of the absurd, a thirst for power and boundless arrogance. I believed, however, that political processes in the Republic of Moldova can be managed in a civilized and democratic way, but the "hunt" of the victims is on the way. So, does the PAS government understand the notions of democracy, rule of law, transparency, honesty? ”, underlined Durlesteanu.


At the same time, the mayor of Chisinau, Vicepresident of the Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova, Ion Ceban, considers that the decision of the Central Electoral Commission to exclude Marina Tauber from the race for the second round of the new local elections in Balti is "an excess of power". The mayor suggested that the representatives of the central government are behind the CEC decision.

"In my opinion, yesterday's decision by the CEC is an excess of power. I convey to the Government that all these decisions continue to set precedents and that no one is forever installed in the soft seats. As CALM Vice-president, I declare that it is a danger for every dignitary, mayor, candidate, for every citizen who wants to cross the threshold of society or to express a different vision ", Ion Ceban wrote on Facebook.


Moldova's largest opposition party, the Socialist Party, also considers the CEC's decision illegal. PSRM "notes with concern that Maia Sandu's regime is actively pursuing the capture of the state on the model of Vladimir Plahotniuc's odious regime."

"It is in this respect that last night's abusive decision of the Central Electoral Commission, subordinated to the ruling regime, which, at the direct indication of Maia Sandu, annulled the popular vote of the citizens of Balti," issued in the statement of PSRM. 

The Socialists claim that although the "Party SHOR" is their political competitor, they consider that "what happened in relation to the candidate removed from the electoral race is an illegality and an abuse by the regime, which used state institutions in the interest of the group, such as: the Security and Intelligence Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Central Electoral Commission. In essence, the regime did nothing but cancel the vote and the option of about 48% of those who participated in the first round of elections in the new elections of the mayor of Balti,"  they said in a statement.

The third President of the country, the Leader of Comunist Party, Vladimir Voronin also criticized the decision. “It's not so much about a candidate or the party that nominated him. It is about the fate of democracy in the country. We have absolutely no doubt that this decision, which goes beyond common sense, was inspired by the power of the so-called "good people", led by the unconstitutional President Sandu. We have to say that the state has again been seized by a criminal-political group, and a dictatorial regime has been established in Moldova.”

And the political analyst Dionis Cenusa considers that the exclusion of Marina Tauber from the electoral race took place because PAS cannot accept that they are not able to obtain major victories at local level.

"What the CEC is doing cannot be explained otherwise than that those who were controlled by the PAS probably received a political indication / suggestion to use the non-conformities in the financial reporting of Tauber / Shor to eliminate them from second round in Balti. Why? The answer is simple and political - PAS cannot accept that after the deafening political victory in summer they are not able to achieve major victories at the local level. It is very likely that PAS / Sandu know that the court in Balti will not legalize the CEC decision that contradicts the constitutional provisions in the field of the right to vote. Thus, PAS and CEC pass the responsibility to the courts, which are obliged not to repeat the illegalities committed by Plahontiuc's regime in 2018 ", said Cenusa.


The international community is also watching Moldova's trials. The Italian Senator Sergio Romagnoli has expressed concern over pressure on candidate Marina Tauber to run for mayor."I am very attentive to the electoral processes in the world, including those that are taking place these days in the Republic of Moldova. In particular, I am concerned about the elections in Balti, the second largest city in the country. "Alarming are the accusations and news circulating about the pressure on the electoral candidate Marina Tauber, nominated by the "Party SHOR", who obtained 48% of the votes, in the first round of the elections", wrote the Italian senator Sergio Romagnoli on his Facebook page.

Marina Tauber believes the CEC stole the vote and the future of the people of Balti, at the suggestion of Maia Sandu.

As the candidate of the "Party SHOR", I considers that the CEC has officially become an instrument of persecution, a political blow in the new dictatorial state led by Maia Sandu” said Tauber. “ The CEC decision is worthy of the Book of Records as the most idiotic and stupid illegality ever committed by an electoral body.

A decision that will cost them a lot, I assure you.  We will not leave things like that. We are determined to go all the way and fight for the truth. We were right. I was right when I said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the SIS persecuted us, pursued us and continues to do so.Instead of occupying with national security, the SIS sought to find out what we eat, how much we eat and where we eat. I was right when I told you that Pavel Postica is a tool in the hands of Maia Sandu. You are convinced that this is so.  Postica did not speak yesterday, Maia Sandu spoke yesterday from the official tribune of the CEC. And he did it in the most filthy way possible," Tauber added.

The final decision on the exclusion of Marina Tauber from the electoral race will be taken by the court until December 5, when the second round of the local elections for the Balti City will take place.

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