Moldova election: 14 independent candidates withdraw

Fourteen of the 21 independent candidates who had intended to run for a parliamentary seat have withdrawn from Moldova's 28 September election.

The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) announced that ten of them had returned their signature lists without requesting official registration as a candidate.

In addition, by the document submission deadline, three potential independent candidates who had requested signature lists to gather signatures for support did not show up at the CEC. Another individual did not collect the lists they had requested earlier.

To date, the CEC has registered two independent candidates for the 28 September parliamentary elections, with a further five candidates' applications currently under review.

The final day to submit registration applications for the 28 September election was Tuesday, 19 August.

The CEC announced it had received a record number of requests for registration as a candidate in the parliamentary elections - a total of 50. In addition to the independent candidates, five electoral blocs, including one that was rejected ("Victorie"), and 25 parties submitted their registration documents to the CEC.

The CEC has so far registered a total of 12 electoral contenders: seven political parties, three electoral blocs and two independent candidates.

"At this stage, 18 files submitted by 13 political parties and five aspirants to independent candidate status are still under review," the CEC announced.

Parties Registered for the 28 September Election:

- Partidul Acțiune și Solidaritate

- Partidul „Democrația Acasă”

- Partidul Coaliția pentru Unitate și Bunăstare

- Partidul Alianța Liberalilor și Democraților pentru Europa

- Partidul Național Moldovenesc

- Partidul Social Democrat European

- Partidul „Mișcarea Respect Moldova”

Electoral Blocs:

- Blocul Electoral „Patriotic al Socialiștilor, Comuniștilor, Inima și Viitorul Moldovei"

- Blocul Electoral „Alternativa”

- Blocul Electoral „Împreună”