Oleg Brega, the independent candidate who polled about 14,000 votes in the November 30 parliamentary elections, said he is discriminated by the national electoral legislation, which stipulates a too high election threshold for independents. He made such statements in the program “Pahomi” on Realitatea TV channel, IPN reports.

According to Brega, it is not right when a party with over 100 candidates must gain 6% of the ballot to enter Parliament, while one person must poll 2% of the vote for the same purpose. “We were put in unequal conditions. As I was politically unaffiliated, I could not enter the legislature even if I gained a larger number of voters than the politically affiliated candidates, who became MPs. That’s why I will protest in front of the Parliament Building during the very first sitting of the legislative body so as to make the lawmakers aware of this legislative gap,” stated Brega.

The activist also made accusations against the media outlets. “I was neglected by the TV channels. I wasn’t invited to public debates by some of them and they reported nothing on my activities. Instead, they campaigned actively for the parties of which their employers form part. Many people probably didn’t know that I was running in elections. They saw the emblem with the bicycle, but didn’t know what it means,” said Oleg Brega.

The former independent candidate considers he didn’t garner the necessary number of votes because the ruling parties caused hysteria among the people by speaking about the danger of a civil war. “Some, who would have never voted for the ruling parties, were afraid to vote for an independent or an extraparliamentary party,” he argued.

Oleg Brega is the only independent candidate in Moldova’s electoral history who polled almost 1% of the vote, breaking the record of about 7,000 set in 2010 by independent candidate Gabriel Stati.