Balti Mayor Alexandru Petcov has accused the ruling PAS and the Party of Socialists (PSRM) of trying to deprive him of his mandate, as well as of manipulating the judicial system and cooperating with criminal circles behind the PSRM in order to seize power in Moldova's second most important city.

He said at a briefing on Thursday that "the mechanism of political persecution was developed by PAS in collaboration with criminal circles close to PSRM. It is aimed at speeding up trials and prosecutions by Balti law enforcers "against Petcov."

"These cases are being processed with record speed. The goal is obvious: suspension of the powers of the legally elected mayor for more than five months, which, according to the law, leads to automatic loss of the mandate and the organization of early elections of the mayor simultaneously with the parliamentary elections," the mayor said.

Petcov believes that "a special role in this process is played by employees of the National Anti-Corruption Center from Balti and a number of officials from other structures, whose coordinated and ordered actions leave no doubt."

Primar called on the international community to monitor the situation in Balti, to assess these actions and to demand that the Moldovan authorities respect democratic standards.

"Local authorities should not be a bargaining chip in political games, and the judicial system should not be a tool to eliminate representatives elected by the people. I remain true to my mandate and my responsibility to the citizens, regardless of their political preferences. The struggle for democracy continues, I will do everything to protect the right of citizens to honest governance and will not allow corrupt clans to bring the city back to the past," Petcov said.