Party 'Șansă' faces three month restriction by Bălți Court
The activities of the Party "Șansă", affiliated with the fugitive Ilan Șor, have been restricted for three months due to legal violations.
This decision was issued by the magistrates of the Bălți Court. Pavel Postică, Vice President of the Central Electoral Commission, informed Teleradio-Moldova that the political party will be barred from participating in the presidential elections this autumn if the magistrates issue a final and irrevocable decision by September 20.
“The Bălți Court partially granted the Ministry of Justice's request to restrict the activities of the Party "Șansă" for three months. However, this decision is not final and can be challenged. We will only discuss its implementation once a final and irrevocable ruling is in place,” said Pavel Postică.
It is important to note that on May 15 of this year, the Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit at the Chișinău Court, Centru headquarters, seeking to apply the provisions of the Law on Political Parties to limit the activities of the Party "Șansă" for six months. Veronica Mihailov-Moraru, the Minister of Justice, stated that the purpose of this mechanism is to hold all political parties accountable and ensure their compliance with financial reporting obligations. The decision has been criticised by Alexei Lungu, leader of "Șansă", who accused the authorities of attempting to remove the political party from the electoral race ahead of the new local elections on May 19.
The Party "Șansă" was previously removed from the electoral race for the local elections scheduled for November 2023. The political party is suspected of financing its campaign with illegal funds, which were allegedly used to bribe both voters and candidate mayors.
According to a report by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), 71 donors to the party did not report any income, and another seven individuals who donated cash were not present in the country at the time. Additionally, no fiscal receipts were issued, raising concerns about non-transparent financing.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
