Supreme Court of Justice Decides to Review Șansă Party Case

The Supreme Court of Justice cancelled the decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeal, which had earlier declared inadmissible the administrative dispute lawsuit of the political party Șansă. Șansă challenged the 3 November 2023 order of the Moldovan Emergency Situations Commission to suspend party members from participating in the 5 November local elections, citing national security concerns. The Supreme Court of Justice motivated its decision by the need to ensure that the fundamental rights of citizens and political parties are respected in accordance with the law. The background of the case encompasses a number of allegations and concerns about the impact on the electoral process, which the Emergency Situations Commission considered serious enough to justify cancelling the registration of the party’s candidates. However, the Șansă political party contested these allegations, arguing that there was no concrete evidence to support them and that the Commission’s decision was a violation of their electoral rights. The decision of the Higher Court Chamber does not mean that the accusations against the political party Șansă are automatically unfounded, but indicates that more attention to detail and legal procedures should be paid before making such far-reaching decisions. The case will therefore be re-examined by the Chisinau Court of Appeal, which will have to re-examine all aspects and issue a new judgement, taking into account the observations of the Supreme Court of Justice.