Galina Dodon

The 80-year-old former President and Soviet-era hangover is running again for office in the July elections - challenging pro-Western forces in tandem with his disciple-turned-rival, Igor Dodon.

As he seeks re-election in 2020, Igor Dodon has made no secret of his close ties to the Kremlin - but critics cay his assiduous courtship of Russia has not brought Moldova any obvious benefits.

Moldovan President Igor Dodon has declared 2019 the "year of the Stephen the Great," recalling a famous ruler of Moldova in the 15th and 16th century - in what many see as a campaign to boost support for Moldovan independence and counter pro-Romanian forces ahead of next year's elections. 

Moldova will host on Friday and Saturday a gathering of conservative, anti-gay and anti-abortion Christian groups called the World Congress of Families under the auspices of pro-Russian President Igor Dodon.

Also, the event has the support of the benefit fund of Igor Dodon`s wife, Galina Dodon, an NGO which allegedly conducts some political driven social campaigns.

The third suspension of Moldova's President, Igor Dodon, by the Constitutional Court has created new friction between Dodon and his Socialist Party, the most popular party in the country and second largest force in the parliament.

Dodon's suspension came after he created an institutional blockage by twice refusing to appoint new ministers in the pro-EU government.

Moldova's Constitutional Courts of Moldova has approved the third temporary suspension from office in three months of the country's pro-Russian president, Igor Dodon.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Moldova's President Igor Dodon at a meeting on Tuesday that Moldova needs to align its political stances more closely with Moscow if it wants to join the Eurasian Economic Union and solve the issue of the breakway region of Transnistria.