President Maia Sandu, the head of the legislature, Igor Grosu, representatives of the “Shor” political party, and the government have reacted to the decision of the Constitutional Court (CC), which admitted the government’s complaint and declared the “Shor” party unconstitutional.

After the High Court’s decision, the head of state said in a Facebook post that “state institutions will analyse the considerations of the CC decision and take the next steps to respect and effectively implement this decision”.

“The Constitutional Court has declared unconstitutional the “Shor” party. It is a decision expected by society, precisely because Moldovans value and want to live in a democratic state, in a state based on the rule of law, where criminal organizations are not protected but prevented from capturing the state.

A political party created out of corruption and for corruption is a danger to the constitutional system and the security of the state (…) The citizens of Moldova have always defended their freedom and demanded equal law for all. Moldova must become a state that punishes and prevents the corrupt from using the state and public money for personal gain. Moldovans want a state that protects them from thieves and delivers justice. Only a state cleansed of those who steal from it can provide welfare to its citizens,” said President Sandu.

For his part, Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu stressed that “the financing of parties with money stolen from citizens will be severely sanctioned, because this is the only way we can clean up politics and ensure that the state institutions are staffed by people of integrity who work only for citizens”.

“The “Shor” party has been declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court – an important victory for the democracy of this country, which for years has been victimized by this organized criminal organization in the service of the Kremlin. It is now up to the state institutions to consider what the next steps are to implement the Court’s decision.

The fight against corrupt politicians and illegal party financing was one of our campaign pledges and remains high on the government’s agenda. Bandits use politics to launder their image and escape justice. But no matter how many image-washing parties they create, they will still remain bandits and criminal organisations (…) A weak and impoverished state starts with party corruption. A state governed by the rule of law is one where thieves stay in jail, not in politics,” said the head of the legislature.

“Today’s decision of the Constitutional Court confirms that the Shor Party has frequently violated the law, being sanctioned on several occasions,” said Prime Minister Dorin Recean.

“This party has received support, including financial support, from the secret services of a third state, with the aim of destabilizing Moldova and hijacking our course of European integration.

The decision strengthens Moldova’s democracy and the rule of law. We are determined to reform the justice system so that the law is at the head of the table and the dignity of citizens is not trampled by the corrupt,” said the Prime Minister.

“From now on, political parties will probably not be able to carry out political activity in Moldova in any way, with any violation of the law,” stressed lawyer Eduard Digore, representing the government in the process.

“We consider this a historic decision, first of all, for the democracy of Moldova. We consider it to be well-founded, legal. It is based on the evidence and arguments presented by the Government. We consider that the Government has fully fulfilled its obligation to prove and argue this complaint, and the arguments of the complaint were found in the Constitutional Court’s decision. We believe that this is an important turning point for political activity in Moldova (…)”, said the lawyer.

On the other hand, Marina Tauber, a member of the “Shor” party, who is the subject of three criminal cases, described the High Court’s ruling as “an unprecedented decision, a shameful decision”.

(…) I want to tell you that we, Ilan Shor’s team, remain in the “Shor” Party. If the judges of the Constitutional Court have taken our stamp, don’t get upset, God with them. Our team remains strong. Our team remains even more united, even more consolidated, and as Mr. Ilan Shor said, we will certainly not find, but we already have several formulas to continue our work, our struggle (…)”, said Marina Tauber.

Lawyer Aureliu Colenco, a representative of the political party that was declared unconstitutional, considers the CC’s decision “abusive”.

“(…) This will be the first ruling of the Constitutional Court to be annulled by the European Court of Human Rights. Moreover, after this ruling, we will ask for the criminal liability of the judges who adopted this ruling, apart from the one who had a dissenting opinion. We consider it a criminal decision”, said the lawyer of the political party.

And former fugitive MP Ilan Shor, leader of the party of the same name, sentenced by the Chisinau Court of Appeal to 15 years in prison, threatened that “none of the perpetrators of this illegality will escape”.

“(…) From the outset, the Government’s request should have been rejected without being examined on the merits. But the Constitutional Court has now given the whole world another example that Moldova is a captured state, ruled by a psychopath, subordinated to foreigners. I assure you that we will defend our right as provided by the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and the international agreements to which our country is party at the ECHR. And when we get justice at the ECHR, but this will necessarily happen, we will demand that everyone involved in this illegal process, which has limited fundamental rights, be held accountable. None of the perpetrators of this illegality will escape (…)”, said Ilan Shor.

On Monday, 19 June, the CC admitted the Government’s application for verification of the constitutionality of the “Shor” political party. Thus, the political party was declared unconstitutional, considering the party dissolved. According to the terms of the CC ruling, the deputies of the “Sor” Party will become independent parliamentarians, without the right to join other parliamentary factions. In addition, the seat that was vacated when Ilan Shor was left without a mandate will remain vacant throughout this legislature.

A dissenting opinion on the ruling declaring the party unconstitutional was delivered by magistrate Serghei Țurcan and a dissenting opinion by judge Vladimir Țurcanu.