An ex-candidate intends to contest judicially the SB decision on election of TRM president

It has been over a month since the contest for the elections of president for “Teleradio-Moldova” (TRM) public company, but the institution’s website still has no information about its final results. Although from the very start the issue generated controversial discussions and the civil society contested the decision of the Supervisory Board (SB), including by means of an independent assessment of candidates, the public still has no information whether the TRM president was chosen.

Interviewed by Media-Azi, SB chairman Ludmila Vasilache told us that Olga Bordeianu took the office immediately after the SB decision of June 4, 2015. “Neither the Labor Code nor the Broadcasting Code or the SB Regulations provide for the possibility to annul an adopted decision,” she said. When we asked whether the criticism against Olga Bordeianu, formulated in the declaration of media organizations and in social networks, had been examined, Ludmila Vasilache said, “Media NGOs are only asking for dismissal. We saw no constructive proposals.”

According to Ludmila Vasilache, only a court can prove whether the documents that Olga Bordeianu presented for the contest are valid or not. “The other contestants, if they find themselves injured, can file lawsuits,” the SB chairman said.

On the other hand, Nicu Scorpan, one of the candidates for TRM presidency, claims he submitted a complaint to the Supervisory Board on June 5, where he disagreed with the SB decision and requested some of his rival’s documents, which he found suspicious. In particular, he wanted confirmation that Olga Bordeianu had met the criteria set by the ad-hoc regulations of the SB and by the Broadcasting Code, referring to the condition to have ten years of experience in mass media and five years of experience in broadcasting. He received a reply to his complaint only on July 3. “The SB avoided giving an exact reply to my question, so I intend to file a lawsuit,” Nicu Scorpan said, adding that “I informed the parliamentary commission on mass media about the illegalities at the public broadcasting company, and the commission’s chairman accepted to have a meeting with the company’s employees in the nearest future.”

We shall remind that media expert Eugeniu Ribca has drawn attention to the lack of transparency at the Supervisory Board, which made no response to civil society’s criticism and did not publicize the decision and the minutes of the meeting that resulted in the election of TRM president.