Prime Minister Dorin Recean warns of the consequences of the vote-buying in the Republic of Moldova: "It is a crime and is punishable"
Investigations by the authorities have revealed the extent of the phenomenon of voter bribery in the first round of elections. Prime Minister Dorin Recean warned, at the beginning of the Government meeting on October 30, that all those who were involved in selling or buying the vote in the first round or intend to resort to such practices in the second round will be documented and sanctioned. The Head of the Executive called on citizens to vote "honestly" on November 3.
"Investigations by the police, CNA and the prosecutor's office proved the extent of vote buying or paid and bought votes dated October 20. It was unprecedented."
Prime Minister Dorin Recean said that there are manipulation attempts by "criminal groups", which aim to mislead the public. They are sending messages suggesting that once November 3 passes, the authorities will end the sanctions measures. The Prime Minister assured that the investigations will continue beyond this date, until all those involved in illegal activities are held accountable.
"I remind you that selling the vote is a serious crime and is punishable by a fine of 37 thousand lei. People can be exempted from this fine, if they cooperate with the police, with law enforcement, but, beware, if they commit the crime a second time, then they cannot be released from this fine. We have all noticed that law enforcement agencies document absolutely all violations. This happened on October 20, this will also happen on November 3, so everyone vote honestly."
We remind that the National Anticorruption Center has applied fines worth over 2 million lei for electoral bribery so far. Another thousand minutes received from the Police are in the process of examination. According to the legislation in force, for committing this contravention, the legislation in force provides for a fine from 25,000 lei to 37,500 lei.
Also, under the new legal provisions, people who offer money to influence the results of elections, risk from one to five years in prison and a fine of over 50 thousand lei, and the illegal financing of political parties from prohibited sources is punishable with up to six years in prison and a fine of over 67 thousand lei.
To ensure the recovery of the damage, legal institutions can apply seizure on the person's assets. Also, people who denounce the scheme and cooperate with the criminal investigation body, including handing over the things transferred to them in an illegal way, can be released from criminal liability.
