Andrei Năstase

Andrei Năstase (born 6 August 1975) is a Moldovan politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs from 8 June 2019 to 12 November 2019. He was also a member of Parliament of Moldova in 2019. Năstase was the leader of the Dignity and Truth Platform (Platforma DA) from 2015 to 2021.

In 2018, Năstase was selected as joint candidate of pro-European Platforma DA and PAS parties. He won the runoff of the Chișinău mayoral elections with 52.57% of the votes, outrunning pro-Russian PSRM candidate, Ion Ceban. Many marked this election as a win for the pro-european and pro-democracy parties, and a big step in combating corruption and oligarchy in the country. However, the elections were later declared invalid due to a breach of "electoral silence," a rule prohibiting campaigning on the day prior to the election. On the day before the election, both candidates utilized social media to encourage voter participation. Năstase's encouragement to "Go and vote" during a Facebook live session, and Ion Ceban's similar messages were perceived as acceptable in Moldovan society since Independence, as most candidates since 1992 consistently encouraged people to vote on the day prior, and the day of the election. The Moldovan courts, to the surprise of many, denounced these messages as "violation of the electoral code". The annulment of the election results sparked extensive criticism from both the European Union and the United States, and lead to significant public demonstrations in the nation's capital. Critics primarily attribute the election's invalidation to oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc, the leader of the Democratic Party. In the wake of these events, the European Union has suspended a financial aid package worth 100 million euros, underscoring the international ramifications of the election's outcome.

In the 2019 parliamentary election, the ACUM Electoral Bloc, a coalition comprising Năstase's  Platforma DA and the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) led by Maia Sandu, secured 26 out of 101 parliamentary seats in Moldova. Amidst the 2019 constitutional crisis, Andrei Năstase was named Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs in the Sandu cabinet. On November 12, 2019, the Sandu cabinet was ousted following a no-confidence vote triggered by the government's decision to bypass its own rules in the appointment process for the General Prosecutor. Năstase openly criticized Sandu for unilaterally overruling its own contest rules without the consultation of coalition partners, a move that was later adjudged unconstitutional and illegal.

Biography
Born on August 6, 1975, in the village of Mîndrești, nowadays in Telenești district, he is the son of Andrei and Anna Năstase. Between 1982 and 1992 Năstase studied at the Mîndrești school, from 1992 until 1993 he has studied at the Faculty of History-Geography of the Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Romania, and between 1993 and 1997 he studied at the Faculty of Law of the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Romania.

Professional activity
From 1997 to 2000, Năstase worked as a prosecutor, employed at the Office of the Chișinău Prosecutor of Transport, initially as interim aid, then as assistant to the transport prosecutor. Not much information about his work in this position is available. In a reply sent to RISE Moldova following an enquiry, the General Prosecutor's Office stated that "in the archives, some documents set up by the assistant of the transport prosecutor, Andrei Năstase, regarding inspections of several aspects of the activity of civil aviation enterprises, including the state enterprise Air Moldova, have been identified". According to the reply of the General Prosecutor's Office, "although, following the controls, a number of derogations were established in the activity of Air Moldova (subordinated to the State Civil Aviation Administration, headed in that period by Victor Țopa), no prosecutor's reaction has been taken".

From 2000 to 2002, Năstase worked as a deputy director of the Moldovan-German Joint Undertaking Air Moldova S.R.L. During this time, Air Moldova has been transformed from a state-owned enterprise into a joint venture, a procedure which has drawn accusations of unlawfulness from political analyst Victor Gurău. According to him, the company's shares were taken over by a so-called foreign investor, who had no accounts and did not meet the minimum requirements to form an undertaking. However, subsequent investigations from the Moldovan Government did not come to the same conclusions. The restructuring of the company led to an investment of over 2 million dollars and another 18,6 million dollars for the acquisition of two Embraer-type aircraft. In 2002, after the communist government came back to power and pursued an aggressive renationalization campaign of multiple enterprises, they abusively nationalized Air Moldova, depriving the German investors of their shareholding illegally. Following the decision to renationalize the company, the authorities were forced to pump money into the enterprise, which did not alleviate the company's financial issues. Following the collapse of the communist government in 2009, the company was privatized once again by other investors.

Political activity
In early 2015, Năstase, along with several opinion leaders, journalists, lawyers, political scientists, ambassadors, and others, participated in the foundation of the Civic Platform Dignity and Truth. He is also one of the leaders of the protest movement in Moldova in September 2015. On 1 November 2015, he was elected President of the Executive Bureau of the Initiative Group set up to organize the Republican referendum amending the Constitution with regard to the election and direct dismissal of the president by the people, the limitation of parliamentary immunity and the number of deputies from 101 to 71. Năstase has also drafted laws that were subsequently examined and positively endorsed by the Constitutional Court. In December 2015, a part of the Dignity and Truth Platform members, including Năstase, joined the People's Force Party. At the extraordinary congress on 13 December 2015, the party was renamed to Dignity and Truth Platform Party (Partidul Politic "Platforma Demnitate și Adevăr", Platforma DA), elected new governing bodies, and Năstase was elected as party chairman.

2016 presidential election
Andrei Năstase was appointed by the Political National Council of the Dignity and Truth Platform Party to run in the 2016 presidential elections. He was registered on 18 September 2016 as a candidate, the fourth officially registered with the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) for the elections of 30 October 2016. On October 15, 2016, Andrei Năstase, despite some polls showing him having more popular support, officially announced his withdrawal from the race and endorsed Action and Solidarity Party candidate Maia Sandu. The decision to not run in the first round was meant to keep the pro-European vote united and ensure Igor Dodon and Vladimir Plahotniuc do not "Split Moldova amongst themselves for the next period" Despite these efforts, Maia Sandu lost against Igor Dodon in the second round.

2018 Chișinău mayoral election
At the 2018 Chișinău mayoral election, after finishing second in the first round with 32.1%, Năstase gained 52.57% of the total number of votes in the runoff, beating Ion Ceban (47.43%). However, on 19 June 2018, the elections were declared void on the grounds of violation of election silence on election day by both candidates, contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Code. This practice to encourage people to vote was, however, customary in Moldovan society since Independence, and came as a shock to International observers and locals, spurring International criticism and protests in Chișinău. As such, the mandate of the elected mayor, Andrei Năstase, was not validated by the magistrates of the Center Sector Court in Chișinău, a decision maintained on 21 June 2018 by the Chișinău Court of Appeal, as well as by the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), which, on 25 June 2018, gave the final verdict on the validation of the results of the Chișinău elections. On June 29, 2018, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) also declared void the local elections held in the capital city. Năstase regarded the decision as politically motivated and considered it to be ordered by Vladimir Plahotniuc. Following this decision, the election for the mayor of Chișinău was to be held in 2019, and the position was to be headed by an interim mayor until then.

On October 8, 2019, after the Moldovan constitutional crisis, which led to the departure of oligarchs Vlad Plahotniuc and Ilan Shor, the Chișinău Court of Appeal validated the Andrei Nastase's mandate by overturning the ruling issued by the Chișinău Court that annulled the local elections held in 2018. Shortly after, Nastase resigned from the post as he was the minister of Internal Affairs at the time.

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, 2019
During the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) session held from June 24 to 28, 2019, the Republic of Moldova was represented by delegates Andrei Năstase of Platforma DA, Vlad Batrîncea of the Socialist Party (PSRM), and Mihai Popșoi of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS). The assembly was poised to deliberate on restoring Russia's membership, which had been suspended following the 2014 annexation of Crimea. Moldovan representatives Năstase and Batrîncea both voted in favor to reinstate Russia to the human rights body, a move that saw substantial backing from a majority of European countries including Germany and France. This decision, particularly Năstase's vote, sparked controversy and criticism back home. Former Mayor Dorin Chirtoacă vehemently opposed Năstase's stance, calling for his resignation from public offices and the leadership of his party. Defending his decision, Năstase argued that his vote was cast in the spirit of fostering democracy, human rights, and inter-state dialogue within Europe, emphasizing its importance for resolving the Transnistrian conflict and asserting that engagement could lead to positive influences on Russia regarding human rights and security for the oppressed.

Alexandru Roitman, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs and European Integration, which was represented by PAS, clarified that the Moldovan officials' votes at PACE did not reflect the official of its government. Roitman further stated that the executive branch does not possess the authority to dictate how parliamentarians should vote, highlighting a separation of powers and the differing perspectives within the Moldovan political landscape regarding how it should handle Russia.

2019 Chișinău mayoral election
On September 21, 2019, Andrei Năstase initiated his campaign for the upcoming local general elections scheduled for October 20, 2019, under the banner of the ACUM Bloc, a coalition formed by the PAS and Platforma DA parties. However, his campaign faced legal challenges when Valeriu Munteanu, leader of the Save Bessarabia Union and an electoral competitor, filed a lawsuit against Năstase. Munteanu accused Năstase of violating electoral laws by incorporating images of Stephen III of Moldavia and the City Hall in his campaign materials. On October 5, 2019, the Chișinău Court of the Râșcani District ruled that Năstase must remove these images from his promotional content, further prohibiting the use of the disputed materials in his campaign and ordering the destruction of any remaining stock..

In the initial round of the Chișinău mayoral election on October 20, Năstase secured 31.08% of the vote, trailing behind his rival Ion Ceban, who received 40.19%. The subsequent runoff held on November 3 saw Năstase increase his share to 47.61% but ultimately fall short against Ceban, who clinched the mayoralty with 52.39% of the vote.

Personal life
Năstase is married to Angela Năstase and has three children. His brother, Vasile Năstase, is a journalist, former MP of the first parliament of Moldova, and one of the people who has signed the Declaration of Independence of Moldova. Năstase is the godson of the businessman Victor Țopa.

Controversies
As a lawyer, he is known for defending various domestic and foreign investors in national and international courts, such as the German company Unistar, but also those of businessmen Viorel and Victor Topa. This was used in a long-standing smear campaign against Năstase, portraying the two businessmen as fugitive cousins, despite the two being unrelated. The smear campaign was conducted via the media holdings owned by oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc. A Rise imvestigation sheds light on the real reason why Plahotniuc wanted Năstase labelled as "The Man of Țopas". Viorel Topa and Victor Topa were illegally stripped of their assets at Victoriabank by Plahotniuc, then blackmailed and forced to seek refuge in Germany. German authorities refuse to extradite them arguing that the Topa's cases are classed as political persecution.

Media owned by Plahotniuc wrote that the Open Dialogue Foundation, led by activist Lyudmyla Kozlovska and allegedly funded by Kazakh businessman and politician Muhtar Abliazov, has paid for flight tickets to Brussels for Năstase and Maia Sandu. They claim the two have benefited from funding from the foundation without properly declaring it. Kozlovska was politically persecuted by Plahotniuc's PD, later dropped after Plahotniuc fled Moldova upon losing the parliamentary majority in the 2019 elections.

According to statements made by the Liberal Party leader, Dorin Chirtoacă, Năstase would have harmed Moldova with a loss worth €7 million. He refers to the involvement of Andrei Nastase in the privatization of state company Air Moldova, through which the German company Unistar Ventures, allegedly managed by Victor Țopa, acquired 49% of the airline's shares. This is, in fact, Andrei Năstase, acting as their lawyer, and winning the case at the European Court of Human Rights, who forced the Moldovan to pay back material damages caused to the plaintiffs.

At Andrei Năstase's request, appointed as Minister of the Ministry of the Internal Affairs, Gheorge Balan, a former judge known for his criticism against corruption in the judiciary during Plahotniuc's rule, has been appointed as interim Head of the General Police Inspectorate at the first meeting of the new Government, when Alexandru Pînzari was dismissed. Later, Andrei Năstase has introduced the new interim head of the GPI, who has invited his subordinates to the parliament. Soon after, Năstase confirmed that he and Gheorghe Balan are in kinship affinity relations (one of several godparents) but that he is qualified to continue as interim Head until the recruitment process finalises. Soon after, the Sandu Cabinet was voted out which had a ripple effect across all institution appointments. Gheorghe Balan has recognized that he and Andrei Năstase are in affinity relations (are the godparents). The newly appointed Minister of Internal Affairs has stated to the media "that the affinity that is having Mr. Balan did not have anything in common with his appointment for the position of the acting head of the GPI… shortly after a competition will be arranged."

On February 21, 2019, Andrei Năstase and the candidates of the ACUM electoral bloc, both of the national and uninominal constituency, have signed the public commitment according to which after Parliamentary elections of February 24, 2019 they would not make any coalition with the Party of Socialists, Democratic Party and Shor Party, and if this commitment will be violated they resign from as MPs mandate. After PAS made the unilateral decision to coalise with PSRM to oust Plahotniuc, Platforma DA agreed to accept PSRM votes for the Sandu Cabinet, but insisted on a series of public commitments and anti-oligarchic laws package.