Moldovan Opposition Leader Wraps up Successful Meetings with Policymakers and Think Tanks during visit to Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dignity and Truth Platform Party

Moldovan civil society and opposition leader Andrei Năstase, President of the Dignity and Truth Platform Party, came to Washington, D.C. last week for his first official visit to America's capital. The political leader held warm and productive meetings with a number of lawmakers and State Department officials, as well as non-government and think tank organizations, including the German Marshall Fund, the International Republican Institute, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the National Democratic Institute, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

During these dialogues, Mr. Năstase discussed the rampant corruption taking place at the highest levels of the current Moldovan government, including the role of Moldovan oligarch and politician Vladimir Plahotniuc in the disappearance of 1 billion dollars from three major banks in Moldova in 2014. In addition to corruption concerns, D.C. officials raised their fears about a fair election campaign environment and discussed efforts to improve the election process that would enable Moldovans to have a true voice in electing their first president in 20 years.

"We are dealing with a captured state by definition and a genuine model of kleptocracy in a 2016 European country, which is beyond unacceptable," said Andrei Năstase. "Moldova's hope for change now relies heavily on support from international institutions. A first important step towards restoring the rule of law is electing a fair and proactive president, who will not accept dark compromises, has competence within the national security field and will appoint an independent Prosecutor General. In order to achieve these measures, ensuring free and democratic elections is imperative if Moldova is to ever become the success story we are all hoping for."

Mr. Năstase plans to return to the nation's capital this fall to hold further discussions and meetings with U.S. government officials. Moldova's upcoming national elections will take place this October.

About Andrei Năstase and the Dignity and Truth Platform Party

Andrei Năstase was elected President of the Dignity and Truth Platform Party in December 2015. 

He is also the elected President of the Great National Assembly Council (CMAN), a group of prominent journalists, artists, political analysts  and other public figures, who work to provide a strategic framework for peaceful protest in the country. Mr. Năstase is a former prosecutor, lawyer, and university lecturer.

The Dignity and Truth Platform Party, which grew out of the ongoing anti-corruption grassroots movement in Moldova, calls for a pro-European political alternative. The Party's popular protests rail against the country's political system, which is often criticized as oligarchic.

SOURCE Dignity and Truth Platform Party