Moldovan President Igor Dodon condemned on Monday the protest being held by the country's opposition, labeling it as a disgrace.
CHISINAU (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th August, 2018) Moldovan President Igor Dodon condemned on Monday the protest being held by the country's opposition, labeling it as a disgrace.
The demonstration was organized on Sunday by the right-wing Dignity and Truth Platform Party (PDA), Party of Action and Solidarity, and Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova. Protesters unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Pavel Filip, abolition of the law on tax amnesty and end of the political persecution against the opposition. They also urged the government to recognize the results of Chisinau's mayoral election.
"What the parties were doing today in the Great National Assembly Square is a disgrace to democracy. The sad thing is that this is happening on the eve of Independence Day. No one has the moral right to use people to advance their political interests," Dodon wrote on Facebook.
Earlier on Monday, the police dispersed the protesters who stayed on the square overnight.
According to the police reports, over 6,500 people came to the demonstration on Sunday.
US Ambassador to Chisinau James Pettit called the protest an exercise in democracy and expressed satisfaction that it was held peacefully.
A EU high-ranking official told Sputnik commenting on the protest that Brussels expects the Moldovan authorities to guarantee the principles of freedom of expression, speech and assembly.
Filip and Moldovan parliamentary speaker Andrian Candu, on their part, believe that opposition organized the protest to attract public attention before the parliamentary elections scheduled for February 2019.
The early mayoral election in the capital of Moldova was held in two stages, the second of which was on June 3. According to the Central Electoral Commission, PDA leader Andrei Nastase won over 52 percent of the vote. However, on June 25, the Supreme Court of Justice declared the election invalid because there was campaigning on election day. Four days later, the Central Electoral Commission annulled the results of the vote. In response, the opposition vowed to hold protests until the results were recognized by Moldovan authorities.
