DISINFO: Foreign diplomatic missions managed the dissolution of Moldovan Parliament
SUMMARY
The diplomatic missions of the USA, European countries and the head of the EU Delegation to Moldova, in fact, managed the dissolution of the Moldovan parliament.
RESPONSE
This claim is in line with the pro-Kremlin narrative about ”foreign control” of the Republic of Moldova and part of the broader allegations against EU for manipulating spaces in its neighborhood.
To "prove" that the US and EU allegedly interfere in Moldovan internal affairs, the article uses the support expressed by some ambassadors in favour of opening more polling stations abroad. In the past few weeks, there had been a heated debate in Moldova around the number of polling stations to be opened for the diaspora in the upcoming parliamentary election.
Initially, Moldova's Central Electoral Commission refused to open 191 stations abroad, as it was proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and requested by some political parties. However, after some intense discussions, it was agreed to open a number of 150 stations. On 23 June, the Ambassador of the US to Moldova, Derek Hogan, made a visit to the Central Electoral Commission, to discuss the upcoming elections and potential provocations, including the organisation of the elections abroad.
The concrete number of Moldovans who are abroad is not known, but at the presidential elections in 2020, more than 260.000 people went for the vote and many of them have not managed to exercise their right to vote because of the long queues that formed outside the polling stations. Moldovan diaspora represents an essential part of the country's economy and, more recently, a new dynamic force in Moldovan politics.
As for Moldovan Parliament, it was dissolved on 28 April 2021 by President Maia Sandu. She also set the date of the early parliamentary elections for 11 July 2021. Maia Sandu explained that in the current Parliament, elected in 2019, the majority is formed of compromised deputies, who defend corruption. According to her, the existing majority was not able to support the reforms for the development of the Republic of Moldova.
After this, on 17 May 2021, the Head of the EU delegation to Moldova, Ambassador Peter Michalko, stated, in a TV interview, that the new Parliament should be credible and able to support a Government that will implement the justice reform and will fight against corruption. This statement is often misused to claim that the EU interferes in Moldova's internal affairs.
The accusation by pro-Kremlin sources against the EU Ambassador for interfering in Moldovan internal affairs stretches back years. One particular episode was in February this year after his TV-interview where he spoke out against corruption and the need to investigate better and resolve the banking fraud issue. After the interview, the Russian MFA spokesperson criticised him publicly and there were protests.
See here a similar case claiming that Moldova is under external control.