Moldova's parliament began moves on Wednesday to prevent members of the banned pro-Russian Shor party running in local elections for other parties or as independent candidates.
  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    2•1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    The party, headed by exiled businessman Ilan Shor, led months of protests against President Maia Sandu and her government over rising prices.

    In a move aimed against Shor party members, Moldova’s parliament approved an amendment to the Electoral Code to bar “specific people” from the local elections in its first and second readings.

    “Parliament today declared a total dictatorship in Moldova, where laws and courts have no force and there is no constitutional framework,” he wrote on Facebook.

    Marina Tauber, his most prominent political ally and a candidate for mayor next month in Moldova’s second largest city, Balti, denounced the move as “sad and pitiful”.

    A government commission on emergency situations headed by Prime Minister Dorin Recean had earlier on Wednesday ordered such a list to be drawn up “to ensure democratic processes in the upcoming elections and eliminate the danger to the state”.

    Shor was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in jail in April over a $1 billion bank scandal and money laundering, and the United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on him.

    The original article contains 431 words, the summary contains 177 words. Saved 59%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • InstigateEnglish
    1•1 year ago

    This is a really tough situation. While I don’t like the idea of pro-Russian sentiment leeching into Western democratic institutions, it’s important not to outright ban your opposition but rather to convince the populace that they’re not worth a vote. Democracy means we all get a voice - the intelligent, the learned, the naive, the stupid, the good, the bad… all of us. Whether or not this is the right or correct move, it does democracy a disservice to prevent people from running for office.

    Of course there’s a lot of nuance to that assertion - surely those that are in bed with wartime enemies shouldn’t be vaulted into parliament for obvious reasons - but I always struggle with the idea of disallowing a person or group of people from running for office who’ve committed no crime against the State.