CEC seeks dissolution of the “Sansă” party, affiliated with Shor
The Central Electoral Commission is calling for the dissolution of the political party “Sansă,” which is linked to the oligarch Ilan Shor. Pavel Postica, the deputy chairman of the electoral authority, informed Teleradio-Moldova that a complaint regarding this matter was submitted to the Ministry of Justice. Postica stated that the political party failed to fulfil its legal obligations related to financial reporting, even during the period when its activities were restricted by a final decision from the Chisinau Court of Appeal. In response, the leader of “Sansă,” Alexei Lungu, denies the allegations and claims that he submitted all reports on time.
The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) is calling for the dissolution of the “Şansă” Party due to financial irregularities identified over the course of a year. Pavel Postica, a representative of the CEC, asserts that the party’s representatives repeatedly ignored requests to address these irregularities.
“We have found that the political party, even during periods of limited activity, did not comply with legal requirements and failed to submit all necessary documents for the financial oversight of the party. These violations continued even after we requested further documentation to monitor their activities. Thus, there have been ongoing violations throughout the year, which, in our view, meet the legal criteria for initiating a legal process to dissolve the ‘Şansă’ political party,” Postica stated.
In contrast, the party’s leader, Alexei Lungu, rejects these accusations and vows to appeal the decision in all higher courts, both domestically and internationally.
“The ‘Şansă’ Party has complied with all regulations regarding the FISC and the CEC. All reports have been submitted on time, following the legislation of the Republic of Moldova. Currently, the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and the core values for which our ancestors fought are being severely violated,” Lungu declared during a flash mob organized in front of the CEC headquarters.
Postica said for Teleradio-Moldova that the final decision rests with the Ministry of Justice, which will determine whether the arguments presented by the CEC are sufficient to warrant the dissolution of the “Şansă” Party.
Expert: Authorities have legal grounds to dissolve the “Sansa” Party
The experiences from the 2023 and 2024 elections indicate that parties affiliated with the oligarch Ilan Shor, who is currently a refugee in Moscow, have engaged in various illegal activities. These include electoral corruption, organized transportation for voters, and failure to report party financing. Political analyst Nicolae Negru argues that authorities have a sufficient legal basis to dissolve the “Sansa” Political Party.
“It must be done according to the law. If the law permits the dissolution of the 'Sansa' Party, and if it is found to violate the legislation, then it should indeed be dissolved. Shor is illegally sending funding here and conspiring against the Republic of Moldova. The Constitutional Court has already decided to ban or dissolve the 'Sansa' Party. It is clear that, regarding the powers of the Central Electoral Commission, once it has made a decision, the matter should proceed to court. The law allows for the possibility of defending the party and deciding, whether that decision is correct or not.”
The “Sansa” Party was established in the summer of 2023, shortly after the former “Shor” Party was deemed unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. In the fall of that year, the “Sansa” Party was excluded from the electoral race for the local elections in November due to suspicions of illegal campaign financing, including offering bribes to voters and candidates for mayor.
In the spring of 2024, the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor created the “Victory” political bloc in Moscow, which included several parties associated with him, such as the “Sansa” Party. Additionally, in 2024, the activities of a party led by Alexei Lungu were suspended for three months by a court order, prohibiting it from participating in the most recent elections. Notably, "Sansa" became the first party in the Republic of Moldova to have its activities temporarily restricted, even though such a mechanism has been available in the legislation for 17 years.
