Irina Vlah, President of the Republican Party Inima Moldovei (“Heart of Moldova”), has issued a new open letter to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Secretary of the Venice Commission, in which she speaks about the Constitutional Court’s (CC) decision of 30 June 2026. According to her, “from now on, an inconvenient party may be excluded from elections solely on the basis of suspicions, just as happened with Inima Moldovei. False accusations published in media close to the government are sufficient, even if they are not proven in court,” TRIBUNA reports.

The political leader noted that her address stems from a concrete situation that has emerged in the Republic of Moldova and which represents a major danger to political pluralism, the integrity of electoral processes, and the overall state of democracy in the country.

“Specifically, on 30 June 2026, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova issued a decision on a complaint submitted by the Republican Party Inima Moldovei, which I have the honor to lead, leaving in force the abusive provisions of the Law on Political Parties that allow political formations to be excluded from elections and have their activity restricted solely on the basis of suspicions of illegal financing. The Republican Party Inima Moldovei presented arguments that a political formation cannot be excluded from elections nor have its activity restricted if there is no evidence that its activity was financed illegally. Likewise, the Venice Commission’s opinion issued in March of this year states that a party may be excluded from elections or have its activity restricted only on the basis of concrete evidence and proof. Unfortunately, the Constitutional Court chose not to take into account either the arguments of the Republican Party Inima Moldovei or the opinion of the Venice Commission,” she stated.

Irina Vlah reiterated that these abusive provisions were introduced by Parliament into the Law on Political Parties on 14 June 2025, less than four months before the parliamentary elections of 28 September 2025. “This was done in bad faith, including with the purpose of excluding the Republican Party Inima Moldovei from the elections and limiting its activity. Just two days before the parliamentary elections, the formation I have the honor to lead was excluded from the race on the basis of suspicions of illegal financing which later proved unfounded. Moreover, the Republican Party Inima Moldovei has now had its activity restricted for nine months, based on the same suspicions of illegal financing that did not prove true, even though, under Moldovan law, the precautionary measure of restricting a party’s activity may be applied for a maximum of two months. For eight months, the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova carried out a complex financial audit of the activity of the Republican Party Inima Moldovei, and the suspicions of illegal financing were not confirmed. Our case should have been a serious argument for repealing the abusive provisions of the Law on Political Parties, but they were nevertheless left in force,” the party leader noted.

In concluding her address, the politician said: “Honorable Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Honorable Secretary of the Venice Commission, we must call things by their name: the Constitutional Court’s decision of 30 June 2026 gives the green light to abuses and anti‑democratic excesses in the Republic of Moldova. From now on, any party in Moldova may be excluded from elections or have its activity restricted solely on the basis of suspicions. From now on, in the case of the Republic of Moldova, we will no longer be able to speak of free and fair elections, of the presumption of innocence, of the right to defense, of political pluralism, etc. We will be able to speak only of the governing party’s right to decide, through politically controlled state institutions, whom it allows to participate in elections and whom it eliminates, whom it permits to operate and whose activity it restricts. No matter how beautifully the text of the Constitutional Court’s decision is legally packaged, this is the truth.

Given this situation, Honorable Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Honorable Secretary of the Venice Commission, I respectfully request that you monitor the situation from the perspective set out in this open letter and express your position within the limits of your competencies. The fate of democracy in the Republic of Moldova is in danger, and only through a joint effort of the parties and citizens of the Republic of Moldova truly committed to democratic values, as well as of strong partners such as the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission, can the situation still be saved.”