The Central Electoral Commission requested on December 1 the Bălți Court to remove Marina Tauber, the candidate of the Shor Political Party, from the electoral race for the mayor position of Bălți municipality. She is accused of using undeclared funds in her electoral campaign. Tauber requested the Chișinău Court of Appeal to annul the decision.

The institution’s decision comes after Nicolai Grigorișin, the independent candidate who will face Tauber in the second round for Bălți City Hall, asked the Central Electoral Commission to verify the expense reports submitted by Marina Tauber, accusing her of several irregularities.

Thus, by the adopted decision, the members of the Central Electoral Commission found that Marina Tauber used in the election campaign undeclared financial funds of at least 1,750 euros, thus exceeding the maximum ceiling set by the Electoral Commission, by at least 500 euros.

According to the report presented by the institution’s vice-president, Pavel Postică, the Shor Party candidate, Marina Tauber, accommodated several activists and supporters in Dumbrava Albă – a rest camp in Bălți, for which 7,500 euros were used. The payment for accommodation at the Dumbrava Albă camp was made by Svetlana Popan, a person who is on the list of the Shor Party for the early parliamentary elections of July 11 this year.

“Between October 25 and November 21, 2021, the Credem-Eco company provided catering services for volunteers, supporters and members of the Shor Political Party accommodated in the rest camp in Bălți, Dumbrava Albă Camping, who carried out activities of electoral agitation during this period in support of Mrs. Marina Tauber – the candidate for the position of mayor of Bălți municipality from the Shor Political Party in the new local elections of November 21, 2021. From the accumulated data, as well as from the statements of the director of the Credem-Eco company and the administrator of the catering department, it turns out that the payment was made in cash by the activist of the Shor Political Party. The amounts paid by the representatives of the Shor Political Party, according to the ordered menu and the duplicates of the fiscal vouchers issued between October 25 and November 21, 2021, by the Credem-Eco for the services provided, are in the amount of 7,500 euros,” it is mentioned in the Central Electoral Commission report.

In reply, Marina Tauber stated that the report presented by the Central Electoral Commission vice-president was an “aberration” and that she did not know Svetlana Popan personally, who, according to the institution, paid for the accommodation of activists and supporters of the Shor Party.

”Mariana Tauber also claims that all the expenses for advertising on social networks and on television were made from the bank account with the mention “Electoral fund”, in accordance with the legislation of Moldova, based on contracts and media plans, being reflected in the submitted financial reports to the Central Electoral Commission for the electoral campaign of November 21, 2021,” it is shown in the Decision.

Subsequently, the Central Electoral Commission with the vote of six members adopted the draft Decision by which it requested the Bălți Court to remove from the electoral race the candidate Marina Tauber for the position of mayor of Bălți municipality. The final decision is to be taken by the court.

Marina Tauber appealed to the Chișinău Court of Appeal the decision of the Central Electoral Commission regarding her exclusion from the electoral race.

“The request was submitted this afternoon by Marina Tauber, who asks the court to annul the decision, as unfounded,” it is shown in an informative note of the Shor Party.

Earlier, the Central Electoral Commission issued a decision to verify the income and expenses of the Shor Party for the new local elections on November 21, for the period up to November 19 this year. At the same time, the Shor Party was obliged to present, within 24 hours, until November 21, at 17:00, the report on the financing of the electoral campaign for the period October 30 – November 5, 2021. The sanction was applied in the form of a warning for not reporting the material donation in the form of a lease of the advertising spaces in the amount of 450 euros.

Marina Tauber, the candidate of the Shor Political Party, won the first round of elections for the position of mayor of Bălți municipality. Tauber obtained 47.93% of the votes.

• Electoral Surprise in Bălți: Marina Tauber and Nicolai Grigorișin will Face, in the Second Round of Elections, for the Mayor’s Seat