Invalidating the rightfully elected mayor of Chișinău threatens the regime of oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc

Abstract

This article examines the most recent political events taking place in the Republic of Moldova, as well as the crisis resulting from the invalidation of the elections for the mayor of Chișinău. The political regime in Moldova can be considered as “electoral authoritarian”, due to the degradation of the quality of democracy after 2014. The response of Western chancelleries to the invalidation of the elections for the mayor of Chișinău came as a cold shower for the political establishment in Moldova. The European Commission, the European Parliament, the State Department of the United States, and noteworthy Western chancelleries sent an unprecedented message and announced that they would freeze granted loans. Western chancelleries decided to enforce this unprecedented measure because a red line was crossed when the results of the elections were annulled. With only several months to go until the Parliamentary elections take place in Moldova, the nullification of the vote for the mayor office of the capital city fuels a political tension, which has reigned for several years in Europe’s poorest country, a nation depopulating at a rate encountered only in conflict zones. Following Erevan and Tblisi, Chișinău could be the capital where the pressure applied by public protests generates major political change.