Victor Perțu excluded two days before the vote
Two days before election day, the Supreme Court of Justice definitively removed Victor Perțu from the race for mayor of Orhei municipality.
The court upheld an earlier ruling by the Bălți Court of Appeal, rejecting the lawsuit filed by the Democracy at Homeparty. The confrontation between Vasile Costiuc and PAS has ended in a victory for the ruling authorities.
Costiuc and Perțu had managed to win at the court of first instance. However, the next two courts, as expected, sided with the authorities. Costiuc may still appeal the decision to the European Court of Human Rights, but that will no longer affect the vote, which is due to take place the day after tomorrow.
Costiuc says case sets precedent for parliamentary elections
According to Victor Perțu, the hearing at the Bălți Court of Appeal lasted only 30 seconds. During that time, he said, he was not asked any substantive questions. Representatives of the Central Electoral Commission allegedly told him: “We are saving you with this decision, so that the party is not banned.”
Vasile Costiuc said the Central Electoral Commission had not provided any evidence linking Perțu to the Shor party. He described the case as a demonstration of a mechanism that could later be used against inconvenient candidates in parliamentary elections.
