Political

Maia Sandu: "Institutions that must combat political and electoral corruption are not efficient and endanger the citizen's vote"

The institutions responsible for combating electoral and political corruption in the Republic of Moldova are not performing their activity efficiently and endanger the citizen's vote. This was announced by President Maia Sandu during a conference, where she commented on the proposal to merge the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office with the PCCOCS. In this regard, the head of state said that the Parliament and the Government will come up with solutions that would change the institutional aspect, so that shortly there will be institutions capable of protecting the citizen's vote and combating corruption at all levels.

As for the head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, Sandu states that the institution headed by Veronica Dragalin, and not only this institution, presents a "vulnerability to the security and democracy of our country".

"We have a major problem because the institutions that must combat political corruption and prevent electoral corruption are not effective today and endanger the citizen's vote. We want Moldovans to decide for Moldova, not dirty money, regardless of where it comes from. I have requested and will continue to request that measures be taken to improve the functioning of these institutions that are responsible for combating political and electoral corruption. We discussed it at the CSE and agreed that the Parliament and the Government should come up with solutions that would change the institutional aspect so that shortly we will have institutions that know how to protect the citizen's vote", said Maia Sandu.

We remind that the Minister of Justice, Veronica Mihailov-Moraru, announced last week the initiative to merge the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the one for combating organized crime and special cases to streamline the fight against corruption.

Until then, complex cases could be transferred to the Section for Combating Political Corruption and Money Laundering, which was recently created within the Prosecutor General's Office. Also, the authorities are considering supplementing this section with prosecutors from the PA and the PCCOCS, who would collaborate and focus on electoral and political corruption cases. In a response to Teleradio-Moldova, the head of the PA, Veronica Dragalin, contested the need for the merger, arguing that no plausible and convincing reasons were presented to justify it.

The reorganization of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases is seen by experts as a measure aimed to remove the head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, Veronica Dragalin. They argue that the reform will not improve the fight against corruption, but will generate instability and will discourage prosecutors.

Eliza Mihalache

Eliza Mihalache

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