Dumitru Pogorea, president of the National Cultural Center “Luceafărul” based in Novosibirsk, Russia, said he will run in the parliamentary elections of February 24, 2019 in the electoral district allotted for the Moldovan diaspora in the Russian Federation. In a news conference at IPN, he said that since September, when 11 organizations of the Moldovan diaspora in Russia expressed their support, these organizations have been pressurized and the situation in Krasnoyarsk is the most serious one.
Dumitru Pogorea noted the situation in the Republic of Moldova has worsened. The current, mixed electoral system does not ensure representativeness for the diaspora as only three constituencies will be established for this. The diaspora is also disadvantaged by the fact that those who want to run in the elections should come to Moldova for several times to register as election runners. The candidates have to initiate the process of collecting signatures in their support and to submit in person the signatures to the Central Election Commission.
Mihail Garbuz, president of “Moldova’s Patriots” Party, told the same news conference that representatives of the ruling party that holds administrative resources will collect the largest number of signatures in constituencies, while the small parties will face difficulties in collecting the necessary signatures. The CEC could annul a part of the signatures by order of the current government that established dictatorship in the country. The current government exerts pressure, including on public servants, who are afraid not to lose their jobs.
Alexandr Popa, co-president of the Association “My Homeland, Moldova”, addressed the future MPs, calling on them not to forget the promises they make to voters in the election campaign and to keep in touch with the electors by regular meetings. He expressed his regret at the fact that the Republic of Moldova lost a lot of citizens, who were specialists in different areas, for economic reasons. A part of these left owing to the tensions existing in society and the pressure exerted on Russian speakers. The division of people according to ethnical criteria should be brought to an end and all the international agreements signed by the Republic of Moldova should take into account the national interest.