Irina Vlah, leader of the Republican Party Inima Moldovei, referred during a briefing to yesterday’s decision of the Constitutional Court (CC), which rejected the complaint submitted by the Republican Party Inima Moldovei. She said that from now on any party in Moldova may be excluded from elections or have its activity restricted solely on the basis of suspicions, TRIBUNA reports.

“More than once we have expressed our position that, in a state that claims to be democratic and governed by the rule of law, it is inadmissible to deprive a party of the right to participate in elections or to limit its activity solely on the basis of suspicions. Moreover, in its opinion issued in March this year, the Venice Commission stated directly that a party cannot be excluded from elections or have its activity restricted solely on the grounds of suspicions.

Regardless of the arguments used by the Constitutional Court, keeping these abusive provisions in the Law on Political Parties is an affront to the Venice Commission and to the Council of Europe in general. In the immediate period ahead, I will send a new letter to the Venice Commission and to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. I will inform them about the latest developments in light of the March opinion, including referring to the Constitutional Court’s decision of 30 June,” she said.

The politician stated that the Republican Party Inima Moldovei warned yesterday, after the Constitutional Court’s decision, that political pluralism in the Republic of Moldova — and democracy in general — has suffered a severe blow.

“And we should not be surprised if, in the Democracy Index 2026, the Republic of Moldova will be downgraded from a hybrid regime to an authoritarian regime. Only in authoritarian regimes can such practices be applied — excluding parties from elections and limiting their activity solely on the basis of suspicions. Especially since, based on the case of the Republican Party Inima Moldovei, it became clear how dangerous such provisions are for democracy.

I will also remind, on this occasion, that the Republican Party Inima Moldovei was excluded from the parliamentary elections of 28 September and had its activity restricted (a measure illegally maintained to this day) solely on the basis of suspicions of illegal financing. For eight months, the Central Electoral Commission carried out a complex financial audit of the party’s activity, and the suspicions were not confirmed. Our case shows how dangerous it is to keep these abusive provisions in the Law on Political Parties,” she added.

Irina Vlah stressed that, “practically speaking, yesterday’s decision of the Constitutional Court means that from now on any party in Moldova may be excluded from elections or have its activity restricted solely on the basis of suspicions. It will be enough for someone to file a complaint with the Central Electoral Commission (even a false one, as in the case of the Republican Party Inima Moldovei), claiming they suspect that party X is illegally financed, and that party will automatically be excluded from elections.”

“De facto, through its decision yesterday, the Constitutional Court has given the green light to abuses and anti‑democratic excesses. I understand that the Court’s decisions are final, irrevocable, and cannot be appealed, but silence is not an option. This is not only the problem of the Republican Party Inima Moldovei, but of the entire political class and of the country in general. From now on, we will no longer be able to speak of free and fair elections, of the presumption of innocence, the right to defense, political pluralism, and other fundamental principles.

We will only be able to speak about the right of the governing party to decide, through controlled institutions, whom it allows into elections and whom it eliminates, whom it permits to operate and whose activity it restricts. We must not delude ourselves — we must acknowledge that this will be the effect and the consequences of yesterday’s decision of the Constitutional Court. No matter how nicely the text of the Court’s decision is legally packaged, this is the truth,” she said.

The politician also addressed journalists: “Dear journalists! I see that many of you are beginning to understand how far the authorities have gone in their abuses. What yesterday seemed to some to be the problem of a single party is today becoming the problem of the entire country. It is now important not to remain silent. It is important to call things by their name. Excluding a party from elections without proven violations is not democracy. Limiting a party’s activity on the basis of fabricated falsifications ordered from above is not the rule of law. Ignoring the position of the Venice Commission is not the European path. Moldova is heading down a dangerous road, repeating exactly the path of a captured state. I urge you to defend democracy, political pluralism, and citizens’ rights together.”