Renato Usatii, the Chairman of the Moldovan opposition Partidul Nostru [Our Party] and its presidential candidate, has left “in the direction of Turkey”, as he formulated obscurely in the Facebook, “where fugitive oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc has been staying for more than 2 weeks by now, namely in Istanbul since September 10”.

If a presidential election were held in Moldova next Sunday, 20% voters would cast their ballots for Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) Chairperson Maia Sandu, and 18% -- for incumbent President Igor Dodon, as per the findings of an opinion poll carried out by the International Republican Institute (IRI) last July 16 through August 23.

The Constitutional Court (CC) expressed regret at the criticism of the government over the negative response of the Constitutional Court to the draft amendments to the Constitution for the judicial system. The press release of the Constitutional Court says that it is concerned that the criticism comes from the branch of government, which is obliged to be guided by the Constitution and the decisions of the Constitutional Court."

Amendments to the Election Code of the Republic of Moldova in the context of the Joint Conclusion made by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), and the possibility of adopting the amendments before the Moldovan presidential campaign due to start on October 1 were discussed in Strasbourg on Wednesday between CEC Chairman Dorin Cimil, CEC Secretary Maxim Lebedinschi, Venice Commission Deputy Secretary Simona Granata-Menghini and Head of the Venice Commission Division of Elections and Political Parties Pierre Garrone.

Addressing the online General Debate of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, President Igor Dodon stated that Moldova is committed to the principle of neutrality and non-alignment to sanctions against partner states.

On Wednesday, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) formally opened its election observation mission (EOM) for the November 1 presidential election in Moldova.

Party of Action and Solidarity Chairperson Maia Sandu today delivered to the Central Election Commission the citizens’ signatures collected in her support necessary for getting registered as a presidential candidate.

The Moldovan authorities are firmly intending to hold the November 1 presidential election in strict accordance with international standards, and are ready to render all necessary assistance to observers to work at the polls, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Oleg Tulea stated during his Tuesday’s meeting with Corien Jonker, Head of the ODIHR/OSCE Election Observation Mission.

Moldova’s Minister of Justice Fadei Nagacevschi is convinced that the recent decision by the Constitutional Court (which declined the draft amendments to the Main Law prepared by the Government) is in fact blocking the Moldovan justice reform and is an impediment to fulfilling Moldova’s commitments to its development partners.

“Following recent actions by the Republic of Moldova’s Socialist (PSRM) government that undermine the integrity of the electoral process”, the Head of EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee, Siegfried Muresan MEP, together with the Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Andrius Kubilius MEP and Euronest Vice-Chair Andrzej Halicki MEP made a statement saying that they are closely following “how PSRM’s recent changes undermine the integrity of the electoral process ahead of the presidential elections on 1 November 2020 and this is of great concern for us”.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDPM), on Tuesday, appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) to get the CEC circular to be abolished. In the party's understanding, it "restricts parties to provide financial support to their presidential candidates," this is said in the LDPM’s statement on social networks.

On Tuesday, Moldova President Igor Dodon has submitted to the Central Election Commission the citizens’ signatures collected in his support to get registered as a candidate for the November 1 presidential election. Though Dodon is standing as a de-jure independent candidate, he came to the CEC together with Party of Socialists Secretary MP Vlad Batrincea, a Deputy Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament.

The Moldovan Prosecution Service has dropped all charges against civil society activist Alexei Alexeyev, and the Chisinau Court acquitted him.

Moldova Prime Minister Ion Chicu has called on political parties to stop attacking the Central Election Commission.

Moldova President Igor Dodon has assured the United States Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Moldova, Dereck Hogan, that he will not be using the administrative resource in the election campaign.

The Promo-LEX Association believes that the Moldovan Central Election Commission exceeded its powers by having restricted political parties' participation in the presidential campaign. That was stated on Thursday by Promo-LEX Program Director Pavel Postica, who presented the 2nd Report of the Election Observation Mission covering the period of August 26 to September 15.

Moldova President Igor Dodon has assured the country that until the presidential election [November 1], there shall be no resignation of the Premier Chicu Government.

The Presidents of Belarus and Russia – Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin – should serve an example for Igor Dodon to follow, believes expert Ion Tabirta of the “Viitorul” [“Future”] Institute of Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS Viitorul).

The Moldovan Central Election Commission regards as fully unfounded the accusations being heard from some November 1 election runners that the Commission is allegedly going to falsify election results by using a preliminary registration of Moldovan voters staying in foreign countries. The Commission’s press service has stated the CEC is ready to analyze – within its legal powers – all the statements being made and all the information available on the issue.

Honorable Chairman of the Democratic Party MP Dumitru Diacov has once again stood up for nominating the Party’s own candidate for the November 1 presidential election. Speaking on the local television on Tuesday night, Diacov stated that this should be the party leader – ex-Prime Minister Pavel Filip.