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The Democratic Party of Moldova has officially launched its electoral platform for local election of 5 June 2011. It was launched in Chisinau, near the Arch of Triumph. The priorities of PDM electoral platform are to ensure local autonomy, building roads, to eradicate poverty, to increase wages, schools, kindergartens and modern hospitals. The Democrats’ leader, Marian Lupu, said that a subject addressed by PDM in local elections is “the reunification of Moldovan society, split by scandals and conflicts”. Democratic slogan in electoral campaign is titled: “It’s Time”.

The slogan of the Liberal Party in this campaign is “Together with PL for your town and village”. Among the priorities announced by the Liberals are to create jobs, repairing roads, poverty eradication, the Europeanization of villages and “Chisinau’s change to the end”. On national level, PL has over 600 candidates to mayor offices and about 10 thousand candidates for local / district councils.

Igor Dodon, candidate of the Party of Communists (PCRM) for mayor of Chisinau municipality, attended the launch of a musical work titled “We are Moldovans”, created by the band “Lume” and filmed in Soroca, Balti and Comrat. Dodon mentioned that the song “We are Moldovans” promotes love to the country and does not contain messages of aggression and it is possible that the “new song can eventually become the anthem”. (Source: Moldpres)

PCRM Chairman Vladimir Voronin convened a press conference in which he criticized the government’s preparation of a new territorial-administrative reform, which will be based on “National Decentralization Strategy”. According to Voronin, the primary intention of the reform process is to review the administrative-territorial organisation and concentration of local governance by optimizing the number of mayoralties (resulting from the calculation — not less than 5,000 inhabitants for a town hall) and optimization of 2-level administrative units, by shifting to higher administrative units, after the model of counties. PCRM will not support that reform and in local electoral campaign will promote the idea that voting for PCRM candidates the voters will defend the existing administrative-territorial organization. (Source: PCRM)

Prime Minister Vlad Filat rejected the accusations of PCRM leader. Filat says the Decentralization Strategy doesn’t stipulate to liquidate the mayoralties, and Voronin’s statements are speculative, they have electoral nature and are not based on provisions of publically released documents. (Source: Jurnal de Chisinau)

At a press conference, the leader of the Republican Party of Moldova (RPM) Andrei Stratan said that about 15 territorial organizations of PLDM, PL and former “Our Moldova” Alliance and the “European Action” Movement have joined the Republican Party. Currently PRM negotiates with other territorial organizations in several districts on joining the Republicans. Referring to the local elections of June 5, the PCRM mentioned the party he leads will be actively involved in the campaign, but not at the level of Chisinau municipality. According to opinion expressed by Andrei Stratan, the Alliance for European Integration had to nominate one candidate for general mayor of Chisinau, as it nominated a single candidate for the election of the head of state. (Source: Infotag)

Independent Press Association (API) released a statement condemning the image attack on the investigative newspaper “Ziarul de Garda”, API member, of which graphical layout, logo and body letters have been used for obvious electoral and defamatory purposes by publishing a printout entitled “ZdC Ziarul de Chisinau”. API asked the Ministry of Interior, Prosecutor General Office and the Central Electoral Commission to investigate operatively this case and to publicly announce who are the authors and who ordered this abject attack against the independent media. People who resort to such forms of manipulation of public opinion should be accountable before the law. At the same time, electoral competitors and their trustees are required to refrain from electoral illegal, undemocratic and immoral propaganda, advertising and anti-advertising.

The coordinator of PLDM electoral staff, Vadim Pistrinciuc, said the party has notified the Prosecutor General Office, Minister of Interior and CEC regarding the so called media product of “Ziarul de Chisinau”, qualified as “a media diversion that does not fall within the concept of a political fight, a defiance of a range of legal norms”. Pistrinciuc stated he has some information that this printout, which illegally uses the logo and other symbols of “Ziarul de Garda”, is distributed in mailboxes by minors, which is contrary to law. (Source: PLDM)

Central Electoral Commission awards the winners of competitions “Most successful motivational slogan in general local elections” and “Best motivational poster in general local elections” , launched on 3 February 2011.The contest of slogans was attended by 41 people, and that of posters — 20 people.

The Political Party People’s Movement Anti-mafia will not run in local elections, but will support candidates in the regions nominated by the People’s Party for the Nation and Country (PpNŢ). The statement was made by Anti-mafia Movement leader, Sergiu Mocanu, who reasoned this decision by mentioning that People’s Party Anti-mafia Movement (MPA) was registered with the Ministry of Justice later than the date of announcing the local elections and therefore can not participate in elections independently.

MPA decided to refrain from running in Chisinau race for City Hall, and won’t nominate any list for city council because they do not want to favour any candidate and because “Vlad Plahotniuc has at least two candidates for local elections in Chisinau: Igor Dodon and Valentina Buliga” , Sergiu Mocanu stated. About PLDM candidate, Victor Bodiu, the leader of Anti-mafia Movement said that he is “a servant of Filat” and “the same figure Voronin once tried to to with Iordan, and Bodiu is nothing more than a Filat’s Iordan”.Mocanu also said that the Centre for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption had prepared lists of candidates for mayors and local councillors who are going to be blackmailed in favour of other candidates. (Source: Info-Prim Neo)

At a press conference, representatives of some organizations, declaring as being the founders of the Coalition “Civic Control — Elections 2011”, announced about monitoring the local elections on 5 June 2011. According to declaration, the monitoring shall be done on voluntary basis by 300 independent observers who had participated in monitoring the parliamentary election campaigns in 2009 and 2010. The Coalition decided that “participating organisations will be active in thier regions and will regularly exchange the information”, and in weekly press conferences electoral monitoring reports will be presented, prepared in three languages. According to the first monitoring report:

• the practice of ignoring the recommendations of the Venice Commission continues also in the process of preparing for general local elections;
• some violations of electoral legislation were already identified in campaigning (distributing propaganda materials that are not in complience with the requirements of the Electoral Code, the use the Easter holidays for the electoral purposes, electoral advertising on billboards without payment from electoral funds, financial or food aid, increased aggressiveness of competing candidates, the pressures on some periodicals;
• local authorities and Central Electoral Commission are urged to pay special attention to the accuracy of basic and supplementary electoral lists, and the candidates are urged to observe the electoral legislation, to refrain from using administrative resources, practices of dirty campaign, to refrain from involving the church during the campaign.

(Source: Coalition “Civic Control — Elections 2011”)