Invalidation of Chisinau mayor elections has disturbed the Moldovan society. The decision has political, economic and administrative consequences for both Chisinau and the entire Republic of Moldova. This is the opinion expressed by the political analyst at IDIS "Viitorul" Ion Tăbârţă during the 15 minutes of economic realism show.

"Even if this was a violation, the decision had to be one, but not the whole electoral process. Invalidation of election results has generated two major protests in Chisinau. Especially in the history of the Republic of Moldova, there are no precedents of invalidating the popular vote. The government is trying to disclose the invalidation of the elections as a decision of the courts with the argument that justice is independent but unsuccessful. For the time being, we do not know what the internal political consequences will be, "Tăbârţă said.

Referring to their external consequences, the political analyst says the tough reactions of European and US partners are being observed. In fact, the Republic of Moldova already had a poor political relationship with the Western partners. In 2017, again, the government's actions have worsened relations as a result of Parliament's approval of the mixed voting system, contrary to the recommendations of the Venice Commission. This has generated political conditionality on the part of the EU to provide financial support.

"Recently, after the invalidation of the elections in the capital, the EU's reaction was to adopt a critical resolution on the Republic of Moldova. The EU recognizes certain economic merits, but it clearly states that political conditionality has not been met. There has been no such crisis throughout the history of the Republic of Moldova with Brussels. The government claims that the resolution adopted by the EU was taken under the influence of the opposition parties. However, the government should consider that the decision was taken in particular as a result of the political decisions of the Chisinau authorities, "Tăbârţă said.

The EU's decision to suspend funding will have an economic impact on the Republic of Moldova, although the government ensures that the budget will not suffer. We need to understand that the EU's financial assistance was intended to finance projects that will stagnate for an indefinite period. Even if the government is going to deal with the EU's decision, the country's economic situation is on a "knife-edge". This is due to the fact that the Republic of Moldova after 2009 enjoyed massive support from the development partners and survived due to the financial injections from the outside.

Another aspect is administrative. It is known that the former mayor, Dorin Chirtoaca, left a "heavy legacy" "on the capital's shoulders". There are many problems, gray schemes that hit in the city's development. Moreover, no one expected miracles from Mayor Andre Năstase, given that he had a short period (1 year) and did not have a team in the Chisinau Municipal Council. But from him, he expected to bring to light all the gray schemes in the town hall connected to the economic interests.

In conclusion, Ion Tăbârţă said that the invalidation of the Chisinau elections was a "litmus paper" of the political life in Chisinau and amplified the poor relationship with the development partners.

The show is made by IDIS "Viitorul" in partnership with Radio Free Europe.

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