Maia Sandu and Alexandr Stoianolgo in the first electoral debate at the Palace of the Republic
The two candidates participating in the second round of the presidential elections faced off today in an electoral debate at the Palace of the Republic. They asked each other questions directly, without anyone moderating their discussion. The candidates had the opportunity to express their views on the country's key issues, such as the economy, justice and European integration. The event was watched with interest on several TV channels and online.
Early in the morning, representatives of the media gathered in front of the Palace of the Republic. Supporters of the two candidates also came, whom the Police did not allow to stay there and instructed them to go to the other side of the street.
According to the rules of the debate, the candidates could come accompanied by five members of their teams, who stayed off the set, a cameraman and a photographer. Alexandr Stoianoglo appeared first, together with members of his staff, followed by Maia Sandu. The candidate nominated by the Socialists was booed by the crowd near the Palace.
The debate was structured in three segments: two minutes for a greeting message to the voters, the formulation of ten mutual questions and two minutes for a final address to the citizens. Questions had a maximum duration of one minute, and answers were limited to two minutes, followed by a one-minute reply. The questions concerned topics regarding the professional activity of each of the participants in the debate, investments, economic issues, justice, relations with Romania, but also the European integration process.
In her final messages, the candidate nominated by PAS spoke about the vote-buying schemes in the elections and asked the citizens to allow her to continue "keeping the peace, bringing money for development and continuing, together with the citizens, the path European". The candidate designated by PSRM, declared that he is ready "to respect the rule of law and serve the interests of the majority". After the debate was over, Stoianoglo refused to make statements to the press.
Maia Sandu expressed her hope, in front of the journalists, that the debate will continue tomorrow on Moldova 1 TV.
"The citizens who had the opportunity to hear the candidates' answers gained the most from this debate. I was inspired by the questions I received from citizens. These are the things we formulated in this debate and I hope we can continue the debate tomorrow on the National TV", she declared for the media.
The electoral debate for the second round of voting with the two candidates, Maia Sandu and Alexandr Stoianoglo, organized by the "Teleradio-Moldova" Company, is scheduled for Monday, October 28. It will be moderated by journalist Radu Osipov, it will be broadcast live on Moldova 1 TV and Radio Moldova, on Monday, starting at 19:00. Later, it will be analyzed in a special edition. The second round of the presidential elections will take place on November 3.
