Modern Democratic Party

The Modern Democratic Party (Romanian: Partidul Democrat Modern, PDM) is a centre-right political party of the Republic of Moldova. It was founded and led by Andrian Candu, the former President of the Moldovan Parliament, under the original name of Pro Moldova.[1][2] Since 2021, the acting president is Boris Foca,[3] who changed the party's name to the Modern Democratic Party in 2023.[4]

Modern Democratic Party
Partidul Democrat Modern
PresidentBoris Foca (acting)
Founded18 June 2020 (2020-06-18)
Split fromDemocratic Party of Moldova
HeadquartersSt. Vlaicu Pârcălab 3, Chișinău
IdeologyEconomic liberalism
Social conservatism
Anti-communism
Pro-Europeanism
Political positionCentre-right[1]
Colours  Light blue
  Blue
Parliament
0 / 101
District Presidents
0 / 32
Website
pro-moldova.eu

History
Andrian Candu, founder and former president of the Modern Democratic Party, then Pro Moldova
Logo of the Modern Democratic Party when it was known as Pro Moldova

Pro Moldova first appeared on 20 February 2020 as a parliamentary group. This happened due to internal disagreements in the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM), which caused six deputies to leave the party. These were Andrian Candu, Sergiu Sîrbu, Vladimir Cebotari, Eleonora Graur, Grigore Repeșciuc and Corneliu Padnevici. Candu became the president of the group,[5] while Sîrbu was appointed as the party secretary.[6] Eight days later, on 28 February, the deputy Gheorghe Brașovschi left the PDM and joined to the group.[7]

Months later, more deputies would join the group. The first of them was Ruxanda Glavan, who abandoned the PDM and joined to Pro Moldova on 1 May.[8] She would be followed on 8 May by Elena Bacalu and Oleg Sîrbu, both from the PDM as well, after Candu made an appeal to the opposition to form an antigovernment alliance.[9][10] Even more deputies from the PDM would join later; Vasile Bîtca and Ghenadie Verdeș did on 18 May,[11] then Angel Agache on 9 June[12] and Eufrosinia Grețu on 17 June.[13]

On 22 June, Pro Moldova was registered as a political party,[1][2] describing itself as "a modern centre-right party, which fights for a prosperous and fair Moldova for everyone".[14]

In the day of 30 June, the deputy from the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM) Ștefan Gațcan joined the party[15] due to the mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova by the ruling PSRM-PDM coalition.[16] This encountered heavy pressure from the other members of the coalition. In fact, after this, he was harassed by two socialist deputies and filed a complaint for the pressure they tried to exert on him. Following this, Gațcan disappeared, spreading rumors that he had been kidnapped. It was later found that he had withdrawn the complaint, and on 7 July, he was found in Iași, Romania. Finally, on 9 July, he went to a meeting in the Moldovan Parliament and announced that he would continue to support the PSRM-PDM coalition.[17]

Days later, Candu said that he still considered Gațcan a deputy of Pro Moldova, as there continued to be one request from him to join the party but not one to withdraw it. Candu tried to contact Gațcan to clarify the situation to no avail, explaining that this was probably because he was not having an easy time due to the previous incidents.[18]

On 1 September, Candu announced that he would run for the 2020 Moldovan presidential election. He also accused Igor Dodon, who was the President of Moldova at the time, of "having exceeded his powers".[19] However, on 18 September, the Central Election Commission of Moldova rejected Candu's request to be registered for the election for failing to meet the required minimum number of signatures from each district, which was 600.[20] Furthermore, on 3 October, the Supreme Court of Justice of Moldova declared that the appeal filed by Candu regarding this decision was "inadmissible", confirming that he could not participate in the presidential election. Candu said this was a "reconfirmation of loyalty to the regime of Dodon" by the judiciary and that "we believe it was a desperate act by the government for fear of the power of Pro Moldova."[21]

On 29 October 2021, Candu resigned as president of Pro Moldova, with Boris Foca being elected as acting president. Candu later explained that the motivations behind his decision were that he wished to leave politics and get involved in the world of business and that the main objective of Pro Moldova, "the departure of Igor Dodon from the political scene", had already been achieved.[3] Cebotari also resigned from his post of secretary general of the party. Both Candu and Cebotari remained members of the party.[22] Tribuna.md reported on 14 March 2023 that Pro Moldova, led by Foca, had legally changed its name to the Modern Democratic Party (PDM). Foca said the party adopted this name once the abbreviation PDM became unoccupied,[4] as the Democratic Party of Moldova had changed its name to the European Social Democratic Party (PSDE) on 20 November 2022.[23] He also said the Democratic Party of Moldova was "the party in which we formed as politicians" and invited members of the old staff of the party to join the newly-renamed Modern Democratic Party.[4]

See also

References
  1. "(video) Al 63-lea partid politic din țară: Partidul "Pro Moldova", înregistrat oficial la ASP". Unimedia (in Romanian). 22 June 2020.
  2. Buzdugan, Loredana (22 June 2020). "Partidul politic Pro Moldova, înregistrat oficial. Candu: "Pro Moldova își va începe activitatea politică"". TV8 (in Romanian).
  3. Beregoi, Petru (2 November 2021). "Din culisele plecării lui Andrian Candu de la șefia Pro Moldova. Un motiv – "debarcarea" lui Dodon de pe scena politică" (in Romanian). Realitatea TV.
  4. "Partidul Democrat Modern din Moldova - nou în Lista partidelor politice. Are vreo legătură cu Vlad Plahotniuc?!". Tribuna.md (in Romanian). 14 March 2023.
  5. "În Parlament a apărut grupul parlamentar Pro Moldova: Candu va fi președinte". Cotidianul.md (in Romanian). 20 February 2020.
  6. Guțu, Liubomir (20 February 2020). "Șase ex-democrați au constituit grupul parlamentar "Pro Moldova"". #diez (in Romanian).
  7. "Minus unu pentru PDM: Gheorghe Brașovschi aderă la Pro Moldova (DOC)". Agora (in Romanian). 28 February 2020.
  8. "Încă un deputat aderă la grupul Pro Moldova: "Adio, PDM"". Cotidianul.md (in Romanian). 1 May 2020.
  9. Făureanu, Adriana (8 May 2020). "Minus patru deputați democrați, după ce și Violeta Ivanov cu Vladimir Vitiuc părăsesc fracțiunea". Agora (in Romanian).
  10. "Patru deputați PDM au părăsit partidul în această dimineață: "Nu mai suntem o echipă"". Jurnal.md (in Romanian). 8 May 2020.
  11. Dulea, Cristina (18 May 2020). "DOC/ Încă doi deputați părăsesc PDM și aderă la Pro Moldova. Mesajul transmis de parlamentari". Ziarul de Gardă (in Romanian).
  12. Turculeț, Capitolina (9 June 2020). "Minus unu pentru democrați: Angel Agache părăsește PDM și aderă la Pro Moldova". Agora (in Romanian).
  13. Severin, Diana (17 June 2020). "DOC/ Încă un deputat democrat a părăsit PDM și a aderat la grupul parlamentar "Pro Moldova". PSRM și PDM nu mai dețin majoritatea în Parlamentul R. Moldova". Ziarul de Gardă (in Romanian).
  14. "Manifest - Pro Moldova" (in Romanian). Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  15. "Un deputat PSRM a părăsit fracțiunea și a aderat la Pro Moldova". Unimedia (in Romanian). 30 June 2020.
  16. Dulea, Cristina (2 July 2020). "Cronologia evenimentelor – Ștefan Gațcan, un doctor deputat, care a "dispărut", iar ulterior pe pagina sa de Facebook apare un video în care el spune că e "bine", dar nu va discuta cu prietenii". Ziarul de Gardă (in Romanian).
  17. Călugăreanu, Vitalie (9 July 2020). "Spectacol politic la Chișinău: Deputatul "sechestrat" a reapărut și a revenit la PSRM". Deutsche Welle (in Romanian).
  18. Caragacean, Mihail (16 July 2020). "Andrian Candu îl mai consideră pe Ștefan Gațcan deputat "Pro Moldova"". TV8 (in Romanian).
  19. Untila, Stela (1 September 2020). "Andrian Candu va candida la funcția de președinte al Republicii Moldova". NewsMaker (in Romanian).
  20. Braghiș, Nicoleta (18 September 2020). "LIVE/ ULTIMA ORĂ! CEC a respins înregistrarea lui Andrian Candu în cursa pentru prezidențiale". Ziarul de Gardă (in Romanian).
  21. "DEFINITIV // Andrian Candu NU poate candida la funcția de președinte al R. Moldova". Ziarul Național (in Romanian). 3 October 2020.
  22. "Andrian Candu și Vladimir Cebotari au demisionat de la șefia partidului "PRO Moldova"" (in Romanian). Canal 3. 1 November 2021.
  23. Liubec, Igor (20 November 2022). "Oficial! PDM, redenumit în PSDE. Cine vor fi președintele și vicepreședinții formațiunii". Deschide.MD (in Romanian).
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