The leader of Moldova’s Socialist Party, Igor Dodon, announced on July 8 that he will not run in the presidential election later this year and threw his support behind former Prosecutor-General Alexandru Stoianoglo.
Dodon served one term as Moldovan president before being defeated by the current pro-Western incumbent Maia Sandu in an election in November 2020. Since then Moldova has tried to distance itself from Russia while making steps toward integration with the EU.
Dodon said that he has renounced "narrow party interests" and does not want Moldova to have "a politically affiliated president" rather one "from the people."
He urged other opposition parties to support Stoianoglo's candidacy and said he believes Stoianoglo will be supported "by many opinion leaders."
Stoianoglo declared that he is "not a politician" but criticized the current government for the way it promotes European integration and for what he called the "militarization" of Moldova.
"The constitutional order is being violated every day by the authorities and various political scoundrels," Stoianoglo told a news conference.
Stoianoglo said he favored EU membership but finds it "insulting" that European integration is "used as a truncheon and not as a means to modernize the country and unite its people."
The former prosecutor-general also said he was running to end injustices under Sandu's administration.
Sandu sacked Stoianoglo last year, citing violations of the Criminal Code on exceeding his authority and a failure to tackle corruption. He denies wrongdoing and has not been convicted in a court. The European Court for Human Rights has ruled that his dismissal violated principles of due process.
Sandu, who has made joining the European Union one of her main policies, will be seeking a second term in the election, which will include a referendum on joining the 27-nation bloc.
Dodon previously said that the Socialists wanted to put forward a joint candidate capable of competing with Sandu and her Action and Solidarity Party. But one by one other opposition leaders decided to run separately.
Dodon met in May with several opposition leaders to reportedly discuss a joint strategy and tried to identify a common candidate. Even though several opposition leaders later told RFE/RL that they had attended the meeting only to exchange views and not to find a common candidate, Dodon continued to say that the Socialists were talking with opposition leaders to form a common front in the elections.
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Dodon said that anyone who opposes Sandu is a potential ally, including fugitive businessman Ilan Şhor. However, he told RFE/RL that he "does not intend to have any discussions" with Şhor regarding the nomination of a joint presidential candidate but said the opposition will have a joint strategy if Sandu wins the election. The strategy includes an agreement among opposition parties to refrain from attacking each other in the first round of voting.
If a new head of state is not elected in the first round, then "everyone must unite around that opposition candidate who will enter the second round of the presidential elections," Dodon told RFE/RL.
Others politicians who have announced that they will run or that they intend to run include former Foreign Minister Tudor Ulianovschi; the leader of Our Party, controversial businessman Renato Usatii; the founder of the Dignity and Truth Platform (DA), Andrei Nastase; the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM), Vlad Filat; and former Prime Minister Ion Chicu.