The High Court of Justice accepted the appeal of the candidate of the Action and Solidarity party, Serghei Stanciu, who is vying for the Orhei Mayor’s seat. At issue is the legality of the 5 November 2023 elections in electoral district No. 25/1 in Orhei and the mandate of Mayor Tatiana Cociu, supported by former MP Ilan Shor.
The 7 December decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeal was overturned and the case will be re-examined by a different set of judges. During the review of the judgement, it was found that the Court of Appeal did not take into account all factors and issued an unmotivated decision.
The High Court of Justice emphasised that the lower courts had not assessed the information that Stanchu was an election competitor and had notified the bodies in advance. These circumstances were not considered and their clarification became necessary for the validity of Stanciu’s claims.
Earlier, on 1 December, the Supreme Court of Justice rejected Stanciu’s appeal against the 24 November decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeal, which rejected his request to annul the results of the Orhei mayoral election and exclude Tatiana Cociu from the race.
Tatiana Cociu, candidate of the Alternative Force for the Salvation of Moldova party, won the Orhei mayoral election in the first round with 57.59 per cent of votes, while Stanciu came second with 17 per cent.
