alegeri.md

Premier Vasile Tarlev reported during a Government session on Wednesday that the Russian nationals expelled from Moldova last week, who pretended to be political advisors and activists of some organisations on protection of human rights, were working for the Democratic Moldova Bloc (BMD), Patria-Rodina Bloc, and the social-political movement Ravnopravye.

Tarlev cited operative information of security services saying that the Tiraspol separatist leaders have allocated 40 million dollars for support of these electoral competitors and other political parties.

Also, President Voronin described the presence of so-called “political technologists” in Moldova and the threats of the Russian State Duma to apply economic sanctions against Moldova as a direct meddling in the Moldovan electoral campaign.

Four independent candidates for the March 6 parliamentary elections, whom the Christian Democratic People’s Party (PPCD) has accused of cooperation with acting government by accepting the broadcasting of what the party describes as a denigrating add called Stop the Extremism during their free antenna time, are ready to give their antenna time for broadcasting of this add in future as well.

PPCD representatives told a news conference that they will ask the CEC to exclude independent candidates Tudor Tataru, Silvia Chirilov, Alexandru Busumachiu and Matei Stefan from electoral race as sanctions for violation of the Election Code through broadcasting of what the party describes as a denigrating add.

The television channel Moldova-1 broadcasted the add on February 20 as part of free antenna time offered to these independent candidates. PPCD announced that it will demand the electronic media watchdog CCA to give an adequate appreciation to this action and to sanction the public broadcasting company TeleRadio-Moldova for violation of audiovisual law.

The Moldovan National Union of Students and Youths (UNST) is unsatisfied with the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) on how students will cast their votes, while another organisation of students describes these statements “as a try to manipulate the public opinion”.

UNST chairman Eugen Balan told a news conference that students will fail till March 6 to receive eligible certificates from CEC. UNST described the refusal of CEC to restore the voting method effective in 2001, when students voted at universities, as “a political action aimed to reduce the participation of students in elections, fulfilling this way a political order of the ruling party.”

UNST seeks the opening of polling stations in institutions of higher learning and threatens to hold ample protest actions. CEC had decided that daily-attendance students including in Transnistria will cast their ballots at any polling stations by showing a CEC-issued certificate.

At the same time, the Moldovan Alliance of Students was indignant that “some organisations which self-name as of students try to speak on behalf of all the students.” The alliance described the actions of these organisations as “a try to manipulate the public opinion, while their activity is an attempt to satisfy the political interests of certain electoral competitors through manipulation of students.”