Action and Solidarity party

Thousands of Moldovans rallied on Thursday in Chisinau in front of parliament to protest against the move by the Socialist Party and the outgoing President, Igor Dodon, to prevent the incoming president from running the Security and Information Service, SIS.

The Council of the European Union on Monday extended until October 2021 the restrictive measures it has imposed on representatives of the separatist regime in Transnistria, banning then from entering EU countries - but observers noted that the list of individuals sanctioned is outdated and includes people who are no longer part of the administration in Tiraspol.

Support in the Moldovan parliament for Prime Minister Ion Chicu's coalition government is slipping away, as the Socialist Party, PSRM, and its Democratic Party, PD, allies now only hold 54 of the 101 seats in the legislature - a majority of three.

Moldovan citizens returning home on charter flights organized by the authorities are now obliged - together with the cost of the ticket - to pay for a COVID-19 test on arrival under an order issued on Friday by the Moldovan Civil Aviation Authority.

More than two months since the parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on February 24, negotiations on forming a coalition government in the former Soviet republic remain ongoing.

So far, the three main political forces that entered the legislature, the Democrats, Socialists and ACUM, have not found find a consensus.

All the main political parties in Moldova on Wednesday or Thursday submitted their lists of candidates to the Central Electoral Commission for the parliamentary elections due on February 24.

Under the new and controversial "mixed" electoral system, half the winning candidates for the 101 seats will come from party lists and half will be elected in constituencies.

Ahead of massive protests scheduled for Sunday, August 26, in the main square of Chisinau, Moldova's ruling Democratic Party, PD, has started an aggressive media campaign, claiming Russia is behind the protests.

The campaign has connected political leaders to prominent figures in civil society in Moldova to the Russian secret service, the FSB, which allegedly is behind the protests.

The cancellation of the results of the mayoral election, won last month by Andrei Nastase, was the straw that broke the camel's back for many people in Moldova.

The initial ruling of a local court in Chisinau on June 20 was confirmed on June 25 by the Supreme Court of Justice.

Thousands of people protested on Sunday in Chisinau against the recent invalidation of the mayoral election in Moldova's capital.

The rally was organised by the pro-European Action and Solidarity Party, PAS, led by Maia Sandu, and the Dignity and Truth Platform, PDA, led by Andrei Nastase.

Dignity and Truth Platform, PPDA, candidate Andrei Nastase won the second round of the local elections for Chisinau's City Hall on Sunday, beating pro-Russian Socialist Party candidate Ion Ceban.