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The platforms of the electoral contenders are criticized by the NGOs, at least on the social segment. About 20 active NGO leaders signed a joint statement, calling on the election runners to consciously guarantee the social protection of every citizen. The signatories say that every party that comes to power must make effort to make Moldova a democratic state where all the persons enjoy high living standards, have equal opportunities and equal access to education of a high quality, while the human rights, including the social ones, are promoted and protected by the state. In this connection, the NGOs ask the political parties to continue the social programs initiated by the previous legislatures, keep the institutional “memory” and develop partnerships with the civil society. (Info-Prim)

A team composed of 70 monitors from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will monitor the electoral campaign and the July 29 parliamentary elections, the first vice president of the delegation of the CIS Executive Committee Vladimir Garkun said on Monday, July 13. According to Garkun, the delegation will start work on Monday and will announce the results of the monitoring on July 30, the next day after elections. The CIS official also said that the delegation will have representatives in most of the districts of Moldova. (Info-Prim)

The Moldova Fund in Washington in cooperation with the Moldovan Diasporas in Northern America and Europe has launched the campaign on the mobilization of votes: 5 SMS for the democratic Moldova! The fund’s statement says that this civil and non-political initiative is aimed at urging Moldova’s citizens to participate in the early parliamentary elections, which will take place on July 29. The action organizers called upon the Moldovan citizens, who work abroad, to send their messages through SMS, Twitter, Facebook: “Do not Manifest Indifference! Take Part in the Elections on July 29! The Fate of Your Children in Your Hands! Vote for the Democratic Moldova! Send this Message to Five Friends!” (Infotag)

A week after the opening of the online service for checking electoral lists, more than 12,000 people have visited this modulus of the official website of the Chisinau City Hall. So far, more than 1,900 applications have been recorded via the Form column, with applicants seeking corrections to electoral lists. The examination term of requests has been extended in connection with lots of applications on checking of data from electoral lists. As well, the modulus “Check the resolution of application” was introduced to let people get informed in this regard. Thus, by introducing the number of identity card and the code from image in this column, the applicant will be informed the way his/her application was settled. (communiqué by Chisinau City Hall)

The secretary general of the Council of Europe (CoE), Terry Davis, states he is “very concerned about the allegations made on Moldovan State Television that some people employed by the Council of Europe participated in the post-electoral disturbances in Moldova in April,” Info-Prim Neo learns from a communiqué by CoE. These very serious allegations have been made without any specific evidence being presented and without the Council of Europe or the people concerned being given an opportunity to respond to them, reads the release. Terry Davis says: “Clearly Moldovan State Television has much to learn about responsible journalism”. (Info-Prim)

The Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) warns the broadcasters to observe the Regulation on covering the early parliamentary elections on July 29. In a press-release the BCC says the media are obliged to observe all the provisions of the Broadcasting Code, in order to inform the voters fairly and objectively about the political platforms of the electoral competitors, in such a way that the voters can express freely and correctly their constitutional right. The BCC will consider the observance of opinion pluralism in newscasts of broadcasters in its public sittings. (Info-Prim)

The elections in Gagauzia will not be fixed, Bashkan Mihail Formuzal told a news conference on Monday. “In Moldova, elections are held every two years, while in Gagauzia every year. No rigging is possible there where the voters are trained. I, as Governor of the autonomous unit, did not urge the people to vote for a certain party. The voters will make the choice that they consider right,” Formuzal said. The Governor also said that equal promotion conditions for all the election runners are created in Gagauzia. The Gagauz administration has meetings with all the political leaders and creates equal conditions for campaigning, the Bashkan said. So far, the autonomous unit has been visited by the leader of the “Moldova Noastra (Our Moldova)” Alliance (AMN) Serafim Urecheanu and the informal leader of the Democratic Party of Moldova Marian Lupu. (Info-Prim)

Stefan Rosca, a sympathizer of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM), says that he was attacked by several masked persons on Monday, while he was guarding a campaign poster of the party located in Buiucani district of Chisinau. At a news conference, he said that he received a 6-cm stab wound after one of the men injured him with a knife. Stefan Rosca said that he has protected the election posters from vandals since last week, on his own initiative. “Two of them managed to escape. I caught the third, but he stabbed me,” Rosca related. He also said that he called the police immediately, but they could not catch the well-built culprits aged between 22 and 25. (Info-Prim)

The Liberal Party (PL) fears that the education system of Moldova faces a crisis, too, as the communist government did not provide the necessary funding. According to Ana Gutu, PL candidate to the Parliament, the crisis in the education system is fuelled by shortage of teachers for certain subjects and degrading performance by young teachers from villages. As well, pre-university educational institutions, particularly professional schools and colleges are also in an uncertain condition. According to liberals, these institutions face serious problems related to management of financial and human resources because of their indefinite status. Dumitru Diacov, chairman of the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM), has also warned in connection with the unfair draft by the Ministry of Education and Youth, which calls for the amalgamation of some institutions of higher learning and reorganisation of the secondary professional and vocational education institutions. “The draft is capable to shut up tens of professional and vocational schools nationwide, with thousands of teachers and auxiliary personnel running the risk to become jobless,” Diacov feared. According to the PDM leader, the draft on restructuring and reorganisation of secondary professional and vocational education institutions foresees the closing of 20 secondary professional institutions and the reorganisation of another 50. No official from the Ministry of Education and Youth could be reached to comment the PL and PDM statements. (actualpress.md)

One part of the Centrist Union of Moldova (UCM) which supports the former chairman of the party, acting deputy chairman Mihai Petrache, will support the Democratic Party of Moldova led by former speaker Marian Lupu. Petrache has assured that the July 11 decision which excludes him from UCM is illegal. “On the eve, the Republican Council of UCM has decided to exclude 42 members from party, as they requested the suspension of their membership in order to participate as part of the electoral list of the Social Democratic Party of Moldova. The excluded members include Vasile Tarlev, who was elected UCM chairman in September 2009 but the Ministry of Justice did not register him so far,” Petrache stated. He noted that the Republican Council brought together 26 out of 43 party members left after the exclusion of the 42. “Our decisions were perfectly legal, or decisions should be made by majority of participants in the council sitting,” he added. Petrache stressed that his party has decided to support PDM at the early elections without negotiating any offices. “I think that Vasile Tarlev and Marian Lupu are like the sky and the earth in terms of organisation, personality,” he emphasised. (Infotag)

“The actions of Mihai Petrache, former deputy chairman of the Centrist Union of Moldova, which announced the exclusion of some party members who are part of the electoral list of the Social Democratic Party of Moldova aim to undermine and destroy the party.” A statement in this respect was delivered by Vasile Tarlev, leader of the Centrist Union of Moldova, who was elected chairman of the party in September 2008 but the Ministry of Justice did not register him so far. Tarlev told a news conference on Monday that Petrache was bribed to deliver these statements, while the decisions made by the UCM Republican Council under Petrache’s lead are illegal, as only 17 out of 84 members attended it. “The UCM council on July 11 brought together 80 members of the political council and four members including Petrache who were excluded from party did not attend it. Mihai Petrache was excluded from UCM for launching the aberrant project on federalisation of Moldova,” Tarlev stressed. He added that former UCM member Mihai Petrache decided to support another political party because he was bribed. (Infotag)

The deputy chairman of the rayon of Causeni on behalf of the Christian Democratic People’s Party (PPCD, Nicolae Birladeanu, holder of the Stefan the Great Order, announced on Monday that he quits the PPCD and joins the Social Democratic Party of Moldova. Birladeanu noted that he is very deceived with the performance of PPCD. He said that all parliamentary, rightwing parties have attracted him. “However, I am in my shoes in PSD. I know that other members of the Causeni-based PPCD branch who count for over 400 persons will follow me. For the time being, I came alone to announce my withdrawal from PPCD, and I did not notify the party leadership yet,” Birladean stressed. He invited the electorate to elect anti-communist parties, not the Party of Communists or the Democratic Party. “PDM is a communist project. I have joined PSD because I was assured that this party is anti-communist,” he added. Also on Monday, PPCD said in a press release that Nicolae Birladeanu was excluded from party for “immoral and degrading” conduct. (Infotag)

The leader of “Moldova Noastra (Our Moldova)” Alliance (AMN) say acting president Vladimir Voronin compels the state-owned company “Moldtelecom” SA to buy, “at a fabulous and dubious price”, the mobile telephony operator “Eventis”, on the brink of bankruptcy. “It is a doubtful affair, which, if done, may affect including those over 7,000 employees of Moldtelecom. In addition, Moldtelecom has its own mobile telephony operator, which is hardly surviving in the conditions of the world crisis,” Serafim Urecheanu told a news conference on July 13. According to the AMN leader, Voronin compels the national fixed telephony operator to give $100 million on “Eventis”, although this company costs 3–4 times less, in the conditions of the ongoing economic crisis. “The Eventis employees have not lifted salaries for 6 months,” Urecheanu stated, adding that he has got this information from Moldtelecom employees from several districts. Moreover, the AMN leader says Moldtelecom’s former manager Gheorghe Ursachi was recently sacked for “being a patriot and did not allow this corruption.” He was replaced by Vitalie Iurcu, the former manager of the Energy Regulating Agency (ANRE), who is already enforcing the request of the head of the state, the AMN president says. According to Urecheanu, the deal would have been impelled on Voronin by certain groups of interests from Russia, not necessarily by Muscovite officials. On the other hand, Urecheanu does not rule out that the deal would be a condition for Russia to disburse the promised half-billion-dollar loan to Moldova. When asked by Info-Prim Neo, Iurie Ungureanu, an advisor with Moldtelecom, has said the company’s management has not made any comments yet on those statements. (Info-Prim)

“The communist governing has done much and very much to promote youth policies.” Young communist candidates to the Parliament of Moldova delivered such statements at a news conference on Monday. Grigore Petrenco exampled with stimulatory conditions for youth development, as well as higher wages for young specialists, housing for young graduates employed in rural areas, business start-up opportunities, etc. In his turn, Ion Ceban combated criticism that the communist government would not provide chances to young people to self-affirm in their country. “Ten years ago, young people were much more confused than at present and now they want more to stay home and build their career than before,” the PCRM candidate assured. (Moldpres)

The European Action Movement (MAE) Monday announced that it withdraws from the race before the end of the electoral campaign. The party will yet participate in all the debates and plead for the removal of the Communists from power, the MAE leader Anatol Petrencu said at a news conference. “We made such a decision in order not to disperse the votes and take from the votes of the Opposition parties,” Petrencu said, specifying that the party does not want anything instead, either places on the list or other political advantages. He stressed that the MAE wanted to participate in elections under a national list composed of the Opposition parties, expressing his regret that this did not happen. Anatol Petrencu also said that the MAE will try to convince the undecided voters to make a correct choice, will promote a clear anti-Communist message and will urge its supporters to vote for on e of the parliamentary Opposition parties. (Info-Prim)

Ecological Party of Moldova “Alianta Verde (Green Alliance)” (PEMAVE) estimates that 60% of the voters have not yet decided who to vote for. The party expects to win 10–12% of the votes of the undecided voters. PEMAVE was registered as election runner the tenth. It presented its program at a news conference on Monday. “About 65% of the wells are polluted; the rivers are mudded, while the illegal cutting of forests and the unauthorized waste dumps seriously affect the environment. We will promote and attract river cleaning projects. We already have the necessary applications and offers,” Vladimir Braga said. Besides solving ecological problems, the party also aims to preserve the country’s territorial integrity, ensure the observance of the human rights, the pluralism of opinion, the traditions and customs of the 80% of Romanians that form the indigenous population and of other ethnic minorities that live in Moldova. It pleads for a sustainable development of the ecological strategy and for stopping the biological degradation. (Info-Prim)

The Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM) accuses the Communist authorities of organizing provocations at the PLDM meetings with voters. According to a statement by the PLDM, on Saturday at a meeting with the Orhei voters, a group of provocateurs in a state of intoxication gathered near the entrance to the Orhei town hall and tried to frustrate this meeting. In Filat’s words, the police did not fulfill its service functions and did not terminate their provocative actions. The PLDM quotes words by one of the provocateurs recidivist Denis, who confessed that they had been specially sent by Criminal Police Officer Roman Leahu, in order to impede to Filat’s meeting with voters. In the criminal’s words, certain privileges and more tolerant treatment were promised to them on the part of the law and order authorities. The statement says that an analogous provocation was committed against other PLDM candidate Vitalie Nagacevschi. “Cramps were scattered in the Vatici-Morozeni road section, where Nagacevschi was driving, and they damaged the vehicle and a tractor blocked the road to the House of Culture. Despite these circumstances the candidate reached the House of Culture, where a group of provocateurs tried to impede the meeting”, the document says. The PLDM condemns provocative actions by the Communist authorities and draws attention of local and international observers to these violations and demands from the CEC, the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Interior to take measures for observing the Electoral Code. (Infotag)

The Christian Democrat (PPCD) candidates have started an electoral drive called “Got an idea? Say it!” Thus, they want to gather ideas from the population to stick them into the electoral offer of this party. The young PPCD candidates want to publicly discuss ’ideas of change’ in the country, hoping the population will accept their challenge. For two weeks, the PPCD candidates for the parliament will go to districts and hold public debates. The best ideas will be included into the the PPCD’s platform. “The idea of our program is active patriotism. It’s important that the voters have an active role in society, generate ideas to renovate the country,” said Dragos Grosu, one of the candidates. They staged their first debates in front of the Northern Bus Station on July 11, where they were joined by PPCD supporters. The supporters told the candidates to promote good neighborhood relations with Romania and Ukraine, to annul the visas for Romanians, to involve the youth into the social, economic and political life, to fight corruption and support the Moldovan producers. More debates are planned in 18 Moldovan districts. (Info-Prim)