Moldova Court reviews Justice Ministry request to suspend "Inima Moldovei" Party
Moldova's Centru Court of Appeal is set to resume a review of the Justice Ministry's request to suspend the activities of the Republican Party, "Inima Moldovei" (Heart of Moldova).
The request follows a decision on 25 September by the Constitutional Court, which ruled the party's submission regarding an unconstitutionality challenge against provisions of the Law on Political Parties to be inadmissible. The ruling is final and is due to be published in the Official Gazette.
The challenge to Article 21 of the Law on Political Parties was filed on 23 September by Fadei Nagacevschi on behalf of the party and accepted by the Court of Appeal. Nagacevschi argued in court that suspending the party during an election campaign irreparably damages both the parties’ right to contest the election and voters’ right to choose freely. He stressed that excluding a party from elections based on an interim measure has irreversible consequences, and any subsequent compensation becomes illusory.
The Ministry of Justice's petition was initially filed on 19 September, based on a notification from the Central Electoral Commission (CEC).
The CEC had decided on 17 September to initiate a comprehensive audit of the activities' financing for the party and the Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP), of which it is a member. The CEC warned the party, stating there were "elements indicating reasonable grounds for suspicion regarding the correctness of its funding."
Polina Panainte, Deputy Director of the Association for Participatory Democracy (ADEPT), argues that if a member party of an electoral bloc commits illegal acts, the entire alliance should be held accountable if it benefited.
"It's very easy: there are four parties in the bloc, you make a deal with one – it brings in illegal money, everyone benefits, and after we get caught, the party that we all knew was committing illegal acts is excluded, and the rest get off scot-free," Panainte told Teleradio-Moldova, adding that the roles must be clarified.
The "Inima Moldovei" party labelled the Justice Ministry’s request for suspension as “another government abuse.” Party leader Irina Vlah called the decision “entirely baseless,” writing in a commentary that the “obvious goal is to silence” the party.
The Patriotic Electoral Bloc, composed of four parties including "Inima Moldovei," is listed ninth on the ballot for the 28 September parliamentary elections.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
