The word is clear: the Moldovan opposition may not be allowed to participate in the elections

The Moldovan opposition is looking for ways to unite before the upcoming parliamentary elections. The Pobeda block told Izvestia about the discussion of this issue with other forces. However, the authorities limit possible cooperation in every possible way by passing bills that effectively prohibit cooperation with the bloc. Pressure is also increasing on individual members of the opposition: on June 16, the head of the Victory Coordination Committee, Alexei Petrovich, announced his detention at the Chisinau airport. Earlier, the Moldovan authorities extended the house arrest of Gagauz Bashkan Evgenia Gutsul. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for September 28, and the election campaign is already due to start in the republic in the summer. Whether the Pobeda bloc can be prevented from participating in the elections is in the Izvestia article.

Moldova's opposition is trying to unite

The Moldovan opposition bloc Pobeda is currently talking with other parties about cooperation before the elections.

— We are discussing the possibility of merging, but no final decision has been made yet. This is a serious step, and many people in the country trust us. Therefore, we approach this issue very carefully and will not deceive the expectations of our citizens," Victory leader Ilan Shor told Izvestia.

Earlier, the head of the Party of Socialists, former Moldovan President Igor Dodon, said that on the eve of the elections, the opposition should have a common strategy, coordination of actions within the country and in the diaspora, in order to prevent fraud in foreign polling stations.

In June 2025, the platform "For Moldova" also appeared in Moldova. Its goal is to unite the opposition before the elections. The participation in the platform was supported by the Party of Socialists, the "Heart of Moldova", the Party of Communists and the "Future of Moldova". According to a sociological survey conducted by the iVoce agency, "For Moldova" was supported by almost three quarters of the participants in this study. The survey was conducted online from 6 to 8 June 2025 among 1,820 respondents from across the country.

The upcoming elections could pose a serious challenge to the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), which currently holds 63 out of 101 seats in Parliament. Against this background, the Moldovan authorities are doing everything possible to prevent the creation of a coalition, including through legislative initiatives.

For example, earlier in Chisinau, a number of bills were passed restricting the work of both opposition media and party members. In early June, the ruling PAS proposed to expand the powers of the Council on Television and radio. This initiative implies granting the agency the right to control Internet content and impose fines of up to 100,000 lei (454,000 rubles) for broadcasting programs and publishing materials that the authorities consider to be disinformation. The government claims that the changes are necessary to protect the information space from false information.

At the end of May, the Moldovan parliament also approved a law on electoral corruption and related violations. According to the new rules, persons acting in the interests of organized criminal groups, foreign states or unconstitutional structures and using their financial resources can be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of seven to 15 years.

This law actually prohibits cooperation with the Victory bloc, Moldovan MP from the parliamentary Bloc of Communists and Socialists Bogdan Tsyrdea said in an interview with Izvestia.

— Any party or person who collaborated with Ilan Shor will not be allowed to participate in the elections. Therefore, the Party of Socialists, at least now, cannot officially cooperate with the Victory bloc," he said.

Recall that the leader of the Victory bloc, Ilan Shor, was previously sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison. He is accused of fraud and money laundering on an especially large scale.

How else are they increasing pressure on the opposition in Moldova

In addition, the authorities are increasing pressure on individual politicians. On June 16, Alexey Petrovich, the head of the national committee of the Victory bloc, was temporarily detained at the Chisinau airport. "Customs control has now been added to the additional inspection by border police officers, for which I was returned from the waiting room. Currently, I continue to follow the set route," he wrote in his Telegram channel. As a result, his documents were returned to him after his detention, after which Petrovich flew to Moscow to participate in a meeting of the World Coordinating Council of Russian Compatriots.

However, this is not the first such case.: At the end of April, the head of the Pobedy committee was also detained at the airport before flying to Moscow.

Petrovich is not the only representative of the opposition who has recently faced restrictions. One of the high-profile cases is unfolding around the Bashkan of Gagauzia, Evgenia Hutsul. On June 11, a court in Chisinau extended her house arrest for 30 days. Hutsul's defense later stated that it would appeal the decision and intended to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

Evgenia Gutsul was detained on March 25 at the Chisinau airport. She was accused of violating the procedure for managing the financial resources of election funds, forgery of documents and illegal financing of election competitors. At first, Bashkan was placed under arrest for 20 days. She was later placed under house arrest.

Also at the end of March, the head of the Chance party, Alexei Lungu, received a summons to the national anti-corruption center. In the spring, Irina Lozovan, a member of the Moldovan parliament from Pobeda, was sentenced to six years in prison. Her husband got five years.

Other political forces are also feeling the pressure. For example, earlier the Party of Socialists reported that the authorities accelerated the conduct of criminal cases against its members. Given the actions of the authorities, it is possible that Chisinau may completely limit the participation of Pobeda in the parliamentary elections, according to HSE analyst Nicole Bodisteanu.

— In relation to the "near-Shor" organizations, the card being played in the form of accusations of illegal financing is quite familiar," she explained to Izvestia.

However, the ruling party has to use other methods against other representatives of the opposition: sabotage of the electoral campaign, institutional and non—institutional methods of obstruction and, in more rare cases, criminal cases, Bodisteanu emphasizes.

Dmitry Sidorov, head of the Department of Foreign Regional Studies at MGLU, also tells Izvestia about the possibility of not allowing the opposition to participate in the elections.

— Such a scenario cannot be ruled out. Firstly, the Moldovan authorities have been systematically exerting pressure on the opposition for several years, and detentions and criminal cases against opposition politicians, as well as the non—admission of opposition political forces to participate in elections, are becoming a "new normal" for the current political regime in Moldova, he says.

In addition, Chisinau's actions are not condemned by European countries. Thirdly, the Moldovan opposition is still not consolidated enough to adequately rebuff such behavior by the official authorities, the expert concluded. Recall that in 2024, they did not allow Vasily Bolya, a candidate from the Victory bloc, to run for president.