The acting administrator of the Arena Chisinau complex, Sergiu Stanciu, who has been relieved of his duties and who was the candidate of the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) for the post of mayor of Orhei municipality and took 17% of voters’ votes, while the candidate of the fugitive former MP Ilan Shor and the Party of Alternative and Salvation of Moldova (PPFASM) – 57.59%(6338), claims that the poll was rigged and will contest the results.

“In Orhei, the organized criminal group acted as it knows best. A real special operation to rig the elections. They broke the law and defied the rule of law by blatantly using administrative resources, the town hall and the district council. They directed and orchestrated the vote-buying process through the direct involvement of polling station presidents and operators. They agitated in polling stations on voting day and, most seriously, forced citizens to vote by threat and blackmail. They have thrown all their resources into this fight, including through puppet parties and candidates who are part of the group and can cover their backs. They have inflated an election contender overnight to insure themselves in the event of a possible second round.

All this is happening in front of our eyes and in front of seemingly powerless authorities,” Stanciu said the day after the election on social media.

The PAS candidate also said he had filed complaints with the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) and that he would have “enough evidence and arguments for these candidates to be eliminated from the race.”

“We have engaged in an good but unequal fight. We have documented several cases and filed complaints with the CEC, the police, we have enough evidence and arguments for these candidates to be eliminated from the race. We will contest these results. Thank you to all those who believed that it is possible to win in Orhei. Without fraud and bought votes the result would have been different”, said Sergiu Stanciu.

Tatiana Cociu, candidate of the Alternative and Salvation Force of Moldova party, won the first round of the Orhei mayoral elections. She took 57.59% of the vote, according to preliminary data from the Central Electoral Commission after counting all the votes in Orhei.

In second place was PAS candidate Sergiu Stanciu with 17%.

After the exclusion from the electoral race of the “Chance” party candidates by the decision of the Commission for Exceptional Situations, the party’s president, Alexei Lungu, who was running in Orhei, urged his supporters to vote for Tatiana Cociu.

Ilan Shor also urged Orheians to vote for Cociu after Alexei Lungu’s exclusion from the electoral race.