Election Row Ignites 'Resistance Movement' in Moldova

The cancellation of the results of the mayoral election, won last month by Andrei Nastase, was the straw that broke the camel's back for many people in Moldova.

The initial ruling of a local court in Chisinau on June 20 was confirmed on June 25 by the Supreme Court of Justice.

Nastase was chosen by almost 53 per cent of the city's population, unexpectedly winning the election against better-placed candidates supported by the pro-Russian Socialist Party and the ruling pro-Western coalition.

The court based its controversial decision to annul the election on Nastase's Facebook live appearance on polling day, when he urged people to use their right to vote - without, however, mentioning any candidate or a party name.

The leader of the Dignity and Truth Platform Andrei Nastase delivers a speech during a protest in Great National Assembly Square, in front of the Government building, after the invalidation of the second round of Mayoral Elections in Chisinau, Moldova, 01 July 2018. Photo: EPA/ Doru Dumitru

Nastase, leader of the opposition Dignity and Truth Platform Party, PPDA, told BIRN in an interview that in the worst-case scenario, according to the law, he might have received a fine but never expected the annulment of the elections.

The 43-year-old-prosecutor and lawyer is now the charismatic leader of a popular movement against Vlad Plahotniuc, the billionaire oligarch and politician who heads the ruling Democratic Party - and who critics say has subordinated the government, parliamentary majority and the entire administrative and judicial apparatus in Moldova to his own interests.

Nastase is leading this movement in alliance with the even more popular pro-European Action and Solidarity Party, PAS, led by Maia Sandu.

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