Moldova court says members of pro-Russian party can contest local elections

Moldova's Constitutional Court said on Tuesday that members of the pro-Russian Shor party can take part in local elections next month, less than four months after it banned the opposition party.

The court announced the decision after considering a complaint by members of the party, which is headed by exiled businessman Ilan Shor and is accused by the West and the Moldovan government of trying to destabilise the country. The court declared the Shor party unconstitutional in June following months of protests led by the party, triggering an immediate ban.

Shor, who lives in Israel, was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in jail in April over a $1 billion bank scandal and money laundering, and has had sanctions imposed on him by the United States and European Union.

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