One of the pro-Russian parties was withdrawn from the elections in Moldova two days before the vote

Two days before the parliamentary elections, the Moldovan Central Election Commission withdrew the Heart of Moldova party, one of the pro-Russian political forces that is part of the so-called Patriotic Bloc, from the race. This decision was announced by the agency reports Moldovan media outlet Newsmaker.

"Heart of Moldova" was excluded from the vote due to an investigation into the case of vote-buying and illegal financing of the political party.

The Moldovan CEC excluded the candidates of this party from the Patriotic Bloc's list – now the latter has 24 hours to update the list of nominees, taking into account the commission's decision and maintaining gender balance.

Meanwhile, the pro-Russian Heart of Moldova called the CEC's decision "illegal and politically motivated."

The meeting of the Central Election Commission of Moldova was held on the background of a protest organized by the Patriotic Bloc.

The searches of the Heart of Moldova representatives took place in early September as part of a case of vote-buying, illegal party financing and money laundering.

The leader of the pro-Russian political party, the former head of the Găgăuzia autonomy, Irina Vlah, claims that the case is allegedly fabricated at the request of the ruling pro-European party Action and Solidarity (PAS). The latter, in turn, stated that "everyone is obliged to abide by the law" and "state institutions must perform their work independently and honestly."

At the request of the CEC, the Moldovan Ministry of Justice appealed to the court to restrict the activities of Heart of Moldova in connection with the investigation. on September 25, the Chișinău Court of Appeal approved the request.

The next day, Patriotic Bloc candidate Vlad Bartyncha appealed to the Constitutional Court to challenge the amendments to the Law on Political Parties, which allow for restrictions on the activities of political parties.

• MEP from Romania Sigfrid Muresan said LIGA.net that Russia understands: the parliamentary elections is a last chance to thwart Moldova's ambitions to join the EU and bring the country back under its influence.
• Read more about the elections in Moldova in the LIGA.net's text.