Mass popular protests in the center of Chisinau reminded that in the post-Soviet space the courts are still used to "correct" the people's will - when it does not work for the election commissions. Protests are related to the recent cancellation of the election of the mayor of the Moldovan capital of Chisinau by the Appeals Chamber. The election was won by the candidate from the non-parliamentary opposition Andrei Nestase, who managed to bypass the candidate from the party of the socialist president Igor Dodon Ion Cheban. It was Cheban who sue Nestas, accusing him of participating in the election campaign of foreigners and in the call to go to the polls on election day. Both these claims were dismissed in court. However, the Appeals Chamber decided otherwise. She acknowledged that the call to participate in elections on election day is agitation. And accused of this not only Nestas, but also Ceban, who published a similar appeal in social networks. At the same time, both candidates did not call for voting for themselves, they only recalled the importance of participating in elections. However, this was enough. And now - if the Supreme Court of Justice agrees with the arguments of the Appeals Chamber - the results of the elections can be canceled, and the candidates-violators are not allowed to participate in the new elections. The non-parliamentary opposition believes that the candidate is not guilty of the court decision, but the oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc, who is the actual leader of the country and the leader of the ruling Democratic Party. The services of the president's party were simply used - and not for the first time. Perhaps, President Dodon was promised that as a result of the lawsuit, the mayor of Chisinau will become his comrade-in-arms. And then got rid of both applicants. There is no political meaning in this decision. The mayor of Chisinau should have been in office for only a year, then the next elections would have taken place. (These elections are connected with the scandal surrounding the previous head of the capital Dorin Chirtoaca). Moreover, letting Nestas lead the capital before the parliamentary elections is not a gift at all. To achieve decisive changes the new mayor still would not have had time, but the voters would be convinced that there are no wizards in Moldova. And this would help both Plahotniuc and Dodon. Instead, a massive protest was provoked when thousands of citizens took to the streets of the capital in the belief that their voice was stolen by a corrupt court. The situation resembles what happened in Ukraine in 2004 - with the only difference being that the result of the election itself is not rigged and it is tried to change it with the help of the courts. The explanations of the judges do not cause any credence - because any sane person understands that the call to participate in elections in the social network can not be perceived as campaigning for a specific candidate. The more comical is the situation when the claim against the opponent was filed by a candidate who himself made a similar appeal. As a result, the Moldovan authorities shot themselves in the foot - in the best post-Soviet traditions. For an extra-parliamentary opposition, an indefinite popular protest can not only be a defense of the election results, but also a successful start of the parliamentary election campaign. But Democrats and Socialists risk losing Chisinau - the center of the Moldovan elections, the country's largest city.

Vlad Plahotniuc and Igor Dodon can only be helped by common sense and the Supreme Court of Justice - if it overturns the decision of the Appeals Chamber. Then the authorities will be able to talk about the victory of democracy and be surprised by the reaction of the opposition - they will not believe very much, but what they still have from their reputation, they will save. However, in this case the oppositionists will not lose: the majority of Moldovans will be sure that the Supreme Court of Justice could not resist the popular protest. Vitaly Portnikov Source: espreso. tv.