Court temporarily restricts work of Greater Moldova Party, Modern Democratic Party of Moldova

The Chisinau Centru Court of Appeal today ordered, as a provisional measure, the limitation of activities of the Political Party Modern Democratic Party of Moldova and the Political Party Greater Moldova until a final decision is taken on the merits.

After a five-hour delay, requested by lawyers of the Greater Moldova party, the judges decided to limit the activities of the two formations as a precautionary measure, until the final ruling is pronounced.

The measure was applied in the context of actions initiated by the Justice Ministry: on September 22 against the Modern Democratic Party of Moldova and on September 30 against Greater Moldova party.

The Greater Moldova Political Party issued a reaction on the page of the leader, Victoria Furtuna, rejecting the accusations and denouncing a discrediting campaign.

A day ago, the Justice Ministry filed a request to the Centre Court of Appeal, asking to limit the activities of the Greater Moldova Political Party for a period of 12 months.

According to the Justice Ministry, the request follows a notification received on September 29 from the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), which found that the formation committed serious infringements of the democratic electoral process.

According to information provided by law enforcement bodies, the Greater Moldova Political Party allegedly received foreign funding from the Russian Federation, through Promsvyazbank, an institution associated with the Shor group. This practice violates national legislation, which prohibits direct or indirect foreign funding of political parties.

The Justice Ministry emphasized that the link between the party, Promsvyazbank, and the Shor group constitutes a case of illegal external funding, impacting state security and the integrity of the electoral process.

A few days ago, the CEC deputy president, Pavel Postica, said that all votes cast  for the Greater Moldova Political Party so far had been declared invalid, including those input into the automated system. A decision to this effect was adopted by the CEC following a ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice, which dismissed the political organization's appeal and upheld the electoral authority's decision to remove Greater Moldova from the race.

At that time, Postica said that, although the law provides in such cases the application of the 'Withdrawn' stamp for the disqualified electoral contestant, to avoid jeopardizing the voting process, the CEC was unable to apply the stamp on the ballots for the Greater Moldova Political Party, as the voting process was already underway.

The Centru Court of Appeal dismissed, on election day, September 28, the appeal of the political organization. Thus, the decision by the Central Electoral Commission stayed in force, with Greater Moldova being disqualified from the electoral race.

The Greater Moldova Political Party on September 26 was expelled from the electoral race through a decision adopted by the CEC with six votes for and three abstentions. The ruling followed an appeal filed by the European Social Democratic Party, which accused the organization of external funding and cooperation with fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor.

Thus, based on the documents issued by law enforcement bodies, the political party's involvement was invoked in: using undeclared funds; using out-of-country money for the electoral campaign; electoral corruption; participating in a camouflaged electoral bloc through associations and voting endorsements promoted by Ilan Shor and the Victory' Bloc, previously disqualified and with limited activity; involving the Church (Metropolitan Church of Moldova) in the electoral campaign; massive influence on electoral rights; direct support from the Russian Federation.