Maia Sandu leads consultations on fighting political corruption
Political parties were invited on Monday, November 18, to the Presidency for consultations on judicial reform and the fight against corruption.
According to representatives of the Presidency, 12 parties responded to Maia Sandu's invitation. Representatives from the Ecologist Green Party, the Moldovan National Party, the National Alternative Movement, parties within the "Together" Bloc, and the European Social Democratic Party were observed entering the courtyard of the Presidency.
“These discussions are welcome, especially with active extra-parliamentary parties. We will discuss and assess the outcomes,” said Anatolie Prohnițchi, leader of the Ecologist Green Party.
“The presidential elections demonstrated the need for thorough preparation and a united pro-European right ahead of the parliamentary elections. I believe this will be today’s main topic of discussion, one we will emphasise,” stated Dragoș Galbur, leader of the Moldovan National Party.
“The agenda is clear: combating political corruption and implementing judicial reform—issues that greatly concern us, the smaller pro-European parties. In recent years, everything related to the financing of political parties has been over-regulated,” said Ruslan Codreanu, leader of the People's Power Party.
“Whenever we were invited to the Presidency, we attended, listened to colleagues from other parties, and shared our perspective on the lack of justice sector reforms. We also addressed media censorship. However, none of the promises made over the past 3-4 years, during which we have been treated as test subjects at the Presidency, have been fulfilled,” remarked Vasile Costiuc of the political party "Democracy at Home."
Previously, the Party of Socialists and the party led by Ion Chicu announced they would not attend the consultations.
These consultations are being held a week after Maia Sandu convened the Supreme Security Council, where the issue of political corruption and the need to accelerate measures to combat it were discussed.
Following the meeting, the head of state called for reducing the review period for political corruption cases. The Government and Parliament were tasked with drafting a concrete plan to prioritise the examination of these cases.
Maia Sandu also announced her intention to invite representatives of political parties and various sectors of civil society to public consultations to discuss the actions needed to combat political corruption.
Translation by Iuri Tataru
