The decision of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) regarding the establishment of the new election date for the mayor of Calugăr commune, Fălești district, challenged in court

The mayor of Calugar commune, Falesti district, Valentina Salamai, elected for three consecutive terms from the Our Party, challenged on January 17, 2025, at the Court of Appeal Center, the decision of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) that set the new election date for May 18, 2025.

In the lawsuit, it is emphasized that the National Integrity Agency (ANI), which found a conflict of interest in Valentina Salamai’s case in 2020 (she hired her son as a boiler operator at the Town Hall for the winter season with a salary of less than 2,000 lei per month), did not request the early termination of her mayoral mandate. Neither the State Chancellery in 2021 requested, in an administrative dispute, the early termination of Valentina Salamai’s mandate, even though this authority was the only one with the right to make such a request. According to legal experts, retroactive application of another law sanctioning the public official was applied in this case, which contradicts constitutional principles and administrative legislation. Other legal violations were also invoked as the basis for the annulment of the CEC’s decision on the new election in Calugar commune.

The Our Party emphasizes that Valentina Salamai is a victim of the current government, which is seeking revenge for her refusal to run on behalf of PAS in the last general local elections. A PAS deputy and the State Chancellery were involved in the pressure against Valentina Salamai, with the Chancellery blocking the second phase of funding for the construction of the water pipeline in Calugăr commune.

In the context of government PAS’s pressures and blackmail against local elected officials, the president of the Our Party, Renato Usatii, called on all mayors and councilors in the country to turn to the Our Party to form a united front in defense of citizens’ right to freely elect the leadership of villages, communes, cities, and municipalities in the country.