Opposition forces: protests intensify before Moldovan elections

Moldova is experiencing a serious political crisis, which is accompanied by mass protests. New rallies broke out after the detention of 69 people who took to the streets, protesting against the harsh sentence of the head of Gagauzia Evgenia Hutsul. Politicians and experts are confident that the protest wave will increase on the eve of the crucial parliamentary elections on September 28. The ruling party of President Maia Sandu is going all-in—one - the authorities, for example, have already approved the composition of the Constitutional Court, bypassing the established rules. Against this background, the opposition declares the usurpation of power in the country. About the political situation before the elections in Moldova — in the material of Izvestia.

Protest sentiments are intensifying in Moldova

On August 18, a rally began in front of the Moldovan Interior Ministry in support of activists who had previously been detained by the police. Dozens of people, primarily supporters of the Pobeda opposition bloc, are demanding the release of the 69 arrested. "The police: from defenders of law and order to clowns of the regime," reads the inscription on one of the posters that the dissatisfied brought to the rally.

Saturday's opposition rally, held in Chisinau on August 16, ended with a violent crackdown on participants and the dismantling of a tent city set up by protesters. It was organized by activists of the Victory bloc, one of the main rivals of the ruling party of Maia Sandu.

The police said that 148 protocols had been drawn up following the dispersal of the demonstration. "69 protesters and three vehicles were taken to the inspectorate. 76 tents, four sleeping bags and an air mattress were seized," the police press service said.

It was the harsh measures taken by law enforcement, including the detention of activists, that led to a new wave of protests. Arrests were also made on August 18, when Vyacheslav Zhukov, a representative of the Pobeda bloc, became a new victim. Later, in a conversation with Izvestia, he noted that the police were taking similar measures to discredit the opposition and intimidate residents who disagree with the ruling party's policies.

— Today, unfortunately, the police are playing into the hands of the ruling party, which has usurped all state institutions, subjugated them, including law enforcement agencies. They run around opposition rallies instead of trying to find some important criminals," he said.

The right to hold rallies is enshrined in the Moldovan constitution, but Chisinau is trying to "break through the knee" of the opposition, Zhukov added. At the same time, protest sentiments in the republic will only increase, says Moldovan deputy, representative of the Party of Socialists Bogdan Tsyrdea. According to him, people will continue to take to the streets due to the economic crisis, inflation, unemployment and lawlessness in the country.

The current protests in Moldova are primarily an expression of dissatisfaction with the decision in the case of Gagauz Bashkan Evgenia Gutsul, Nicole Bodisteanu, an analyst at the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, told Izvestia. On August 5, a court in Chisinau sentenced the head of the autonomous region to seven years in prison. She was accused of being involved in financing the Shor party, which is banned in Moldova. In response, Hutsul called the verdict "a political massacre ordered from above" and said that President Maia Sandu uses repression as a tool to deal with dissent.

The Moldovan population as a whole is dissatisfied with what has been happening in the republic over the past three years, Bodisteanu says.

— The standard of living of ordinary citizens has declined significantly, social policy is aimed not at protecting vulnerable segments of the population, but at bringing all norms and laws in line with EU standards, the country's economy is stagnating and regressing in places. All this, and in addition, the court proceedings that are not clear to everyone, have led to the fact that people really came out to protest and are ready to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the authorities," the expert believes.

Heavy fines for participating in rallies and harsh detentions, according to government officials, should discourage people from taking to the streets, but in reality this will only exacerbate the situation, says Natalia Kharitonova, professor at the RANEPA under the President of the Russian Federation, chief researcher at the Russian State University of Economics.

— This approach is a mistake, and it will not justify itself. Rather, it indicates that the authorities are disoriented by the outcome of the negotiations in Alaska. And they are dreading other meetings with Trump," she told Izvestia.

The activity of the opposition will increase. The leader of the Victory bloc, Ilan Shor, called on citizens to take part in anti-government rallies on August 23. "We will announce a firm no to the central government," he wrote on social media.

The policy of the ruling circles aimed at stopping this activity will simply increase and scale the discontent with Sandu's team among the population, Kharitonova believes.

The pre-election situation in the republic

The parliamentary elections in Moldova, scheduled for September 28, will become the main political frontier that will chart the country's course for the years ahead. In Moldova, it is the parliament that forms the government, which has more powers in the country than the president. Therefore, the victory or defeat of Maia Sandu's Action and Solidarity (PAS) party will determine whether Kishenev will change his pro-Western course or not.

It should be borne in mind that if the parliament is occupied by the opposition, the president will have to take into account the approach of the majority coalition. Given the relationship between the PAS and the opposition, it is difficult to imagine how effectively they will be able to act. Therefore, the current president and her entourage pursue the only goal — to remain in power at any cost, says Natalia Kharitonova.

In particular, on August 17, the ruling party approved the new composition of the Constitutional Court, which caused a flurry of discontent from the opposition, which called this decision a "usurpation of power."

The Constitutional Court of Moldova consists of six judges. Two of them are chosen by the Government, two by Parliament, and two more by the Supreme Council of Magistracy. At the same time, a number of judges were to be appointed as deputies of the next convocation, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Vlad Batryncha told reporters.

— Is it possible to talk about responsibility and justice when the parliament and the government with an expired mandate allow themselves to appoint judges of the Constitutional Court? Alexander Stoyanoglo, the leader of the Alternative bloc, exclaimed.

Now the Constitutional Court will be forced to satisfy any whim of the authorities, up to and including the cancellation of the elections, if the ruling party gets a bad result in them, says ex-President of the republic Igor Dodon. According to him, the current authorities understand that they will not get a parliamentary majority in the upcoming elections in September, so "they are trying to hedge themselves with various methods that can be considered usurpation of power."

— Just a few weeks ago, they changed the law and gave additional powers to the Security Council and President Maia Sandu, despite the fact that we have a parliamentary country. This is unconstitutional," he said.

Maya Sandu is well aware that her party is losing support, Sergei Margulis, senior lecturer at the Department of International Politics and Foreign Regional Studies at the RANEPA Presidential Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia. "We saw this in the last presidential election, when Sandu managed to win mainly due to the diaspora and mass fraud," the expert emphasized.

In 2024, the majority of voters in Moldova voted for Alexander Stoyanoglo, the opponent of the current president, but Sandu managed to seize victory in the second round with the help of polling stations outside the country where the diaspora votes. At the same time, many more polling stations have been opened in Western countries than in the Russian Federation, where many Moldovans also live.

According to recent polls, the Pobeda opposition bloc is gaining about 40% of supporters inside the country, while PAS ratings are rapidly declining and are already reaching 30%, Nicole Bodisteanu said. If all procedures are carried out in accordance with the norms of democracy, the opposition has a chance to gain a significant share of seats in parliament. However, as the practice of the 2024 presidential elections shows, the situation may change at the last moment, thanks to the same voices of the diaspora.