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The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has turned down an application by Prosecutor Marin Popa, who asked its consent to hold and keep in preventive arrest Veaceslav Platon, candidate No. 67 on behalf of the Moldova Noastra Alliance (AMN). According to the prosecutor’s application, a criminal case was opened against V.Platon, as he is deputy chairman of the commercial bank Agroindbank SA, but indicated in the personal file to CEC that he is attorney, referent in the foreign relations directorate of the Chisinau-based commercial bank Moldinconbank. Under Article 46(5) of Election Code, “the candidates cannot be punished under penal charges, arrested, held or receive administrative sanctions throughout the electoral campaign without the consent of the electoral body which registered them, except for flagrant offences.”

The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has forewarned the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) for violation of the election coverage regulation. A CEC decision says that contrary to the regulation concerned, the PCRM used records featuring Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, European Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso and the European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero Waldner, in some electoral spots aired by 6 TV channels, as well as on its website.

PCRM has asked the CEC to stop the erasure of the names of people working abroad from voter rolls. A PCRM representative to CEC said that according to knowledgeable reports, in some localities from the rayon of Orhei “people are massively erased from electoral lists because they are abroad.” He asked the CEC to check these reports and combat such actions. CEC chairman Eugen Stirbu promised to check this information, as such actions are illegitimate. He noted that CEC has recently instructed chairpersons of district electoral councils in connection with issuance of voters’ rolls.

The chairman of the Comrat-based Edinaya Gagauzia Movement, Fiodor Gagauz, has explained at a press conference why this organisation supports the Centrist Union of Moldova (UCM), led by former premier Vasile Tarlev, at the forthcoming parliamentary elections. Gagauz stressed that plans of UCM to build a circle of friends around Moldova, to strengthen friendship with Russia, to promote the neutrality of Moldova are attractive. Vasile Tarlev gratified “Gagauz patriots” for their support and said that he is ready to build together a new Moldova based on national unity and integrity of the country. (Source: Info-Prim Neo)

The first report by the Civic Control — Elections 2009 Coalition, established as a reaction to activity of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections 2009, signals the illegal conduct of electoral campaign via the Short Message Service (SMS) by electoral candidates Moldova Noastra Alliance and Centrist Union of Moldova. According to the report, the two parties have sent “short and clear electoral messages to majority of mobile telephony customers.” In the context, CEC has formally asked the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology to take care that mobile telephony operators respect the Election Code. The same source said that before February 14 not all 11 electoral candidates that joined the electoral campaign respected the regulations of the Election Code concerning the relief from offices of public servants who are part of electoral lists.

A civic show with the participation of domestic artists aimed to mobilise interest of electors for the April 5 parliamentary elections will take place in Chisinau. The show will open in the National Opera square at 18.00 on February 27. This is an initiative of IDIS Viitorul, which is part of the project “Stimulating civic responsibility within the 2009 electoral campaign” funded by the European Commission Delegation to Moldova. So far, IDIS Viitorul has organised two civic shows in Balti and Cahul for 3,700 youths. Among songs, participants listened to apolitical advertising calling for participation and responsibility. Apolitical promotional materials drafted by IDIS Viitorul were disseminated during shows in Balti and Cahul. (Source: HotNews)

A group of NGOs recall electoral contestants that they are welcome to sign cooperation agreements until March 15 on the basis of which the lists of candidates will be checked. On Tuesday, February 24, representatives of the Civic Initiative for a Clean Parliament told a press conference that 40 investigative journalists are working out profiles of future parliamentarians. The initiative proposed Moldovan political parties in mid-March to sign cooperation contracts within a campaign called “Meet the candidate” organised by the seven nongovernmental organisations. So far, such contracts have been signed with the Democratic Party of Moldova, Social Democratic Party, Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova, Liberal Party, Moldova Noastra Alliance, Centrist Union of Moldova, Party of Socialists Patria Rodina, and Republican Party (Source: Info-Prim Neo).

AMN chairman Serafim Urechean has presented, at a press conference, a secret and informal circular by the Interior Ministry issued under the shape of “instructions” by Minister Gheorghe Papuc. According to the document, the police receive clear instructions to chase all electoral candidates participating in parliamentary elections. It is an “oral instruction to policemen from republic,” who are told the No.1 task — “to record, collect facts , analyse and report all information obtained or heard at work, at home, at market, in stores, discussions with neighbours, in public transport, cultural facilities, especially in educational institutions etc.”! The circular note also demands that “any criticism against acting governance and PCRM must be recorded and reported… — everyday, all heads report at the Interior Ministry at 07:15, the general information on republic is reported to Minister Papuc who reports to Voronin directly.”

AMN leader Serafim Urechean has stated that the confidential database of all citizens of the country from the Ministry of Information Development is hacked or bought from public servants having access to it, as it is on sale at the electronic device market in the Ismail Street in Chisinau. Urechean stressed that all these actions take place “as the communist clan is preparing an ample operation to massively falsify ballots on April 5, 2009.” Thus, the national project “Electronic Moldova” has become familiar to the public.

Serghei Banari, independent member of the Balti Municipal Council, has released a statement saying that “by using fabrication and truthless statements, the PCRM is trying via the Balti City Hall to obstruct my registration as independent candidate for the 2009 parliamentary elections.” He says that CEC has received from the Balti City Hall a list of 232 names of people and their signatures who would allegedly have cancelled their signatures from the lists supporting Sergiu Banari as independent candidate. Banari affirms that the Balti City Hall “has presented fake documents with fictive names and false signatures to CEC… Since the Balti City Hall is ruled by PCRM members, I have drawn the conclusion that the communist party is illegally trying to obstruct me from going to the polls, in order to settle a score for my anti-communist position in my quality of municipal councillor and organiser of anti-communist meetings in Balti. I guess that the PCRM took these actions after communist leaders have realised that my participation in elections will essentially reduce the number of PCRM voters from northern areas of the republic.”

The ProGen 2009 Alliance, a coalition of nongovernmental organisations which calls for gender equality, invites political parties, CEC and NGOs to sign a “Principle engagement on promotion and respect for equality between women and men at the 2009 parliamentary elections”. “The document draws conduct norms on respect for gender equality during electoral campaign,” Daniela Terzi-Barbarosie, executive director of the Partnership for Development Centre, has told a news conference. In order to ensure an integral approach of the gender dimension in the parties’ lists of priorities, ProGen 2009 has launched a long-term civic engagement (2009–2014) called “Road paper on respect for equal chances for women and men within electoral processes in Moldova.” The alliance has also launched the website www.alegeriprogen.md, which publishes useful information on gender dimension at parliamentary elections, electoral platforms and lists of parties in the light of gender equality, opinions and attitudes of ProGen 2009 members. (Source: Info-Prim Neo)

Historian Anatol Petrencu, chairman of the Actiunea Europeana Movement (MAE), has opened his blog. “I will do my best to be online and answer to questions of visitors… I have decided to open my blog in the virtue of the office of MAE chairman. I will write about gravest problems in Moldova. After elections, I would like to discuss with visitors different positions of Russian historians regarding problems of the Romanian area.” (Source: Unimedia)

Electoral lists include 41 persons with criminal records. Newspaper Flux, owned by the leader of the Christian Democratic People’s Party, Iurie Rosca, published this list on Tuesday. It reveals that the 41 persons are part of the lists of eight political parties participating in the electoral race. In particular, the electoral list of the Liberal Party led by Mihai Ghimpu includes 5 candidates with criminal records, the Moldova Noastra Alliance and the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova have six candidates with criminal records each, the Conservative Party — 4, the Actiunea Europeana Movement — 1, the Social Democratic Party — 13, the Democratic Party of Moldova — 4, and the Centrist Union of Moldova — 2. (Source: Deca-Press)

The visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Chisinau proves that Russia has decided to support the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova at these elections. This step is explained by the lack of alternatives, not by sympathy to Voronin. The Liberal Party, which is considered a pro-Romania political force, is one of main rivals of the PCRM. Therefore, Russia has decided to support “the least evil”. This is the key idea published by the Russian newspaper Kommersant, which recalls that in 2005 Moscow supported the former Moldova Democrata Bloc, led by Serafim Urechean, via the TV station Pervy Canal. (Source: Kommersant / UNIMEDIA)

The chairman of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Moldova, Stefan Uratu, applied on Monday, February 23 to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) in order to participate in the April 5 parliamentary elections as independent. He was optimistic and said that he will garner more than 3 percent of the ballots (3 percent is the electoral threshold for independent candidates). “I am sure that people want me to protect their rights,” Uratu told journalists, adding one of his slogans: “Believe, vote and you will be rescued.” Uratu noted that he decided to join politics after an incident occurred in front of the Prosecutor-General’s Office in early February, when a protest meeting he was attending turned into a battle. (Source: Moldova Azi / Info-Prim Neo)