The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has begun examining Andrei Năstase’s case related to the invalidation of the mayoral election results in Chișinău, from June 3 2018.

On June 19, 2018 the Chișinău Court invalidated the results of the second round of the last mayoral election for Chișinău City Hall. Rodica Berdilo, a magistrate in the Chișinău Court, was the one who adopted the decision. The main argument was based on a video Andrei Năstase posted on his Facebook page on the election day, urging people to go to the polling stations. Andrei Năstase did not suggest who the citizens should vote for, but the court qualified his message as an act of electoral agitation in his own interest. On June 21 and June 25, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Justice maintained the Chișinău’s Court decision.

On December 15, 2018 Andrei Năstase filed a case to the ECHR. The Court issued a statement in the case of Andrei Năstase vs. the Republic of Moldova on July 11, 2019

“The application concerns the invalidation of mayoral election results in Chişinău that had shown a clear victory for the applicant, a candidate of the opposition. The invalidation was ordered by a court on the grounds that the applicant had addressed voters on Facebook on the election day calling on them to go and vote. The applicant’s appeal to the voters was interpreted by the domestic courts as an act of campaigning during a period when campaigning was forbidden by law (the period of silence).

The courts considered that the breach of the electoral legislation by the applicant had been serious enough to have had a significant impact on the final outcome of the elections, given the important number of shares and likes received by the applicant’s Facebook live broadcasts and the difference in the number of votes received by the two candidates in the elections.

The applicant challenged the decision arguing, inter alia, that it had been politically motivated and that it had infringed his right to freedom of expression. However, the decision was confirmed by the hierarchically superior courts.

The applicant complains before the Court that his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 10 of the Human Rights Convention had been violated.”

At the same time the ECHR addressed the following questions to both parties:

1. Has there been an interference with the applicant’s freedom of expression within the meaning of Article 10.1 of the Convention on Human Rights?
2. And if the answer is yes, was that interference prescribed by law and necessary in terms of Article 10.2 of the Convention on Human Rights?

The articles in question have to do with freedom of expression.

ZdG reporters contacted the governmental representative, Oleg Rotari, who informed us that the Government has until October 8 to answer these questions, but this period can be extended.

“After receiving the Government’s position, the Court will analyze and request the complainant to come up with his own position. After that the Government will have a further round of observations. And thereafter, the Court will analyze the entire file and give the verdict,” Rotari stated.

During the mayoral elections in Chișinău from May- June 2018, Andrei Năstase represented the Truth and Dignity Platform Party, the Action and Solidarity Party and the Liberal Democratic Party. In the second round, he competed against Socialist Party representative Ion Ceban and defeated him by 124,532 votes. However, the Chișinău Court invalidated the results of the mayoral elections in Chișinău. The Central Electoral Commission took note of the Court’s decision and declared that the next mayoral elections in Chișinău will take place in 2019.

On July 29, 2019 the Central Electoral Commission set the date for the mayoral elections in Chișinău for October 20, 2019 along with the parliamentary elections for Constituencies 33, 48 and 50.

Diana Gațcan, gatcan.diana@gmail.com