Moldova court suspends four political parties tied to Ilan Șor
Moldova's Court of Appeal has temporarily suspended four political parties, including the pro-Russian Victorie bloc, over allegations they are successors to a banned party.
The action, which also affects the Şansă, Renaştere and Forţa de Alternativă şi de Salvare a Moldovei parties, is a provisional measure.
The Ministry of Justice requested the parties be dissolved, arguing they were set up to continue the activities of the Şor party, which was declared unconstitutional in June 2023. The ministry filed the lawsuit with the Court of Appeal on 11 August, following a referral from the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). The CEC had sought to have the parties declared successors to the banned Şor party.
According to the CEC and the Intelligence and Security Service, the leaders of the four parties attended a congress in Moscow on 6 July 2025, coordinated by fugitive businessman Ilan Şor. The groups announced the creation of the Victorie-Pobeda electoral bloc and said they planned to contest the parliamentary election on 28 September 2025. A CEC report from October 2024 later highlighted common, disguised actions aimed at influencing the vote.
The four groups allegedly took over the structure, resources and personnel of the banned Şor party immediately after it was declared unconstitutional. Under the Law on Political Parties, a party declared unconstitutional is forbidden from continuing its activities by creating new entities.
Other groups associated with Ilan Şor, including Şansă, Victorie, Forţa de Alternativă şi de Salvare a Moldovei, and Renaştere, also tried to participate in the September election via the Victoria Electoral Bloc. The CEC excluded them from the race, citing irregularities in their registration with the Public Services Agency and a lack of complete lists of their executive bodies. The CEC's decisions were upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Justice, which rejected the groups' final appeals.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
