Moldova's parliament began moves on Wednesday to prevent members of the banned pro-Russian Shor party running in local elections for other parties or as independent candidates.
This is a really tough situation. While I don’t like the idea of pro-Russian sentiment leeching into Western democratic institutions, it’s important not to outright ban your opposition but rather to convince the populace that they’re not worth a vote. Democracy means we all get a voice - the intelligent, the learned, the naive, the stupid, the good, the bad… all of us. Whether or not this is the right or correct move, it does democracy a disservice to prevent people from running for office.
Of course there’s a lot of nuance to that assertion - surely those that are in bed with wartime enemies shouldn’t be vaulted into parliament for obvious reasons - but I always struggle with the idea of disallowing a person or group of people from running for office who’ve committed no crime against the State.
This is a really tough situation. While I don’t like the idea of pro-Russian sentiment leeching into Western democratic institutions, it’s important not to outright ban your opposition but rather to convince the populace that they’re not worth a vote. Democracy means we all get a voice - the intelligent, the learned, the naive, the stupid, the good, the bad… all of us. Whether or not this is the right or correct move, it does democracy a disservice to prevent people from running for office.
Of course there’s a lot of nuance to that assertion - surely those that are in bed with wartime enemies shouldn’t be vaulted into parliament for obvious reasons - but I always struggle with the idea of disallowing a person or group of people from running for office who’ve committed no crime against the State.