Moldova court orders rerun of party's election registration
The Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) has ordered the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) to reconsider the application from the political party Moldova Mare to register for the parliamentary elections on September 28.
The SCJ rejected the CEC's appeal and upheld the Court of Appeal's decision, which had earlier overturned the Commission’s refusal to allow the party, led by Victoria Furtună, to run in the elections.
The court found the central electoral authority's arguments did not meet criteria in the Administrative Code and that the CEC should have offered the party a chance to correct its list of candidates. As a result, the CEC must re-examine the documents submitted by the political group and issue a new decision on whether to allow or reject its participation. The SCJ's ruling was issued on Thursday, September 4. The panel unanimously declared the CEC’s appeal inadmissible, and the decision is final and cannot be appealed.
The CEC had previously rejected the Moldova Mare party's registration for the September 28 elections, citing its failure to meet the minimum 40% gender quota on its candidate list. Chișinău's Court of Appeal overturned the Central Electoral Commission's decision from 23 August which had rejected the Moldova Mare party's candidate list. The court's ruling on 26 August forced the CEC to reconsider the party's application.
The Moldova Mare party is linked to convicted oligarch Ilan Șor. Investigative reports in the autumn of 2024 revealed that the network coordinated by the fugitive, who is hiding from Moldovan justice in Moscow, along with priests from the Metropolis of Moldova (subordinate to the Russian Orthodox Church), were campaigning for Victoria Furtună during her presidential campaign. So far, the CEC has registered 22 electoral contestants for the 28 September parliamentary elections: 14 political parties, four electoral blocs, and four independent candidates.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
