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Ilan Shor to lead new opposition political bloc in Moldova as coordinator

Two parties, the Alternative Force for Moldova’s Salvation, and the Ours Party, have already signed an agreement to join the bloc

MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/. Ilan Shor, leader of the Sor Party, which has been banned in Moldova, announced plans on Monday to lead an opposition bloc currently being formed in the country in the role of coordinator.

"The decision was made to form a bloc titled ‘Chance. Obligations. Accomplishments’ - S.O.R. Two parties, the Alternative Force for Moldova’s Salvation, and the Ours Party, have already signed an agreement to join the bloc. <...> I will act as a coordinator for this bloc. We have agreed that the bloc won’t have a leader but there will be a coordinator instead, as coordinating things and decision-making is what is of paramount importance today," Shor told Rossiya-24 television.

Also, Shor announced that he would soon form a shadow government for the country. "We are planning to form a shadow government, as we call it, in the next few weeks that will help a number of sectors to weather today’s social and economic troubles. The bloc is set to form government agencies; these will be departments in charge of industries and departments handling regional work," he explained.

Earlier, the Moldovan Constitutional Court ruled to uphold a government request to ban the Sor Party. Under the ruling, the Justice Ministry was instructed to set up a commission to liquidate the party and remove it from the national register. Constitutional Court Chairman Nicolae Rosca said that Sor Party members will retain their mandates, but that the party’s parliamentary faction would be dissolved, and its deputies would sit as independent lawmakers. Shor pledged efforts to come up with specific decisions within days after consulting with his lawyers.

Protests, organized by the Sor Party and supported by other opposition parties, erupted in Moldova last summer demanding the resignation of President Maia Sandu and calling for a snap parliamentary election. Protesters blamed the country’s leader and government for the economic crisis, which has seen prices for food, natural gas, utilities, gasoline and diesel fuel skyrocket, while annual inflation hit a record 30% for the first time since the 1990s.

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