In 2015, the party decided to nominate Ilan Shor for Mayor of the town of Orhei. Shor, who was at that point in time under house arrest,[35] won a majority of the votes in the first round of the election and subsequently became the leading figure within the party.[33] In October 2016, Shor was elected president of the party, which was renamed Șor Party. In June 2017, the party President, Ilan Shor was sentenced to 7.5 years in jail for fraud. He broke house arrest and fled the country in 2019 whilst appealing the sentence.[36] On 1 December 2018, the party joined the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe.[37]
In December 2018, the party created a model collective farm based on its own election programme in the Orhei region, dubbing it the "Commune of Dreams".[38][39][40]
On 8 November 2022, the Moldovan government requested the constitutional court to initiate proceedings for the outlawing of the party in Moldova, due to it allegedly promoting the interests of a foreign state (Russia) and harming the independence and sovereignty of the country.[45]
On 13 April 2023, the appeal court doubled the sentence of party President Ilan Shor in a case linked to the theft of $1 billion in bank assets as well as money laundering, breach of trust, and fraud to 15 years in prison in absentia and froze his assets. Shor was living in Israel at the time of the court ruling after having fled Moldova in 2019.[46] On 27 April 2023 a plenary session of the parliament voted to revoke Shor's parliamentary mandate. Shor appealed the decision to the Constitutional court but lost he appeal on 5 May 2023.[47]
On 1 May 2023, the party's Vice President, Marina Tauber, was detained at the Chișinău International Airport while trying to leave the country for Israel via Turkey. She was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office on charges of illegally funding the party.[48][49]
In May 2023 an investigation was launched into a suspected case of bribery of voters by the Șor Party during the 2023 Gagauz gubernatorial election.[47]
Controversies
On 19 June 2023, the Șor Party was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Moldova.[50][51][52] Șor declared that the party will continue its activity and that it will contest in the next elections.[53]Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman of the Russian foreign ministry, said that the decision to declare the Sor Party unconstitutional contravened democratic principles.[54] The court chairman Nicolae Roșca cited "an article in the constitution stating that parties must through their activities uphold political pluralism, the rule of law and the territorial integrity of Moldova."[55] The current six serving MP's of the Șor Party being allowed to continue as independents.
On 31 July, the Moldovan parliament voted in favour of banning the leaders of the dissolved Șor Party – including Ilan Shor – from standing in elections for a period of five years.[56] In October the Constitutional Court of Moldova ruled that Article 16 of the Electoral Code is unconstitutional and that former members of the Șor Party can stand for elections.[57]
In August 2023, a clone party, called “ȘANSĂ” or Chance party, led by journalist Alexei Lungu was established.[58] After the ruling, former members of the party largely moved to the Chance Party as well as the Revival Party, with the structures of these partes being largely formed by defectors from socialists and communist parties. The parties were described as populist and appealing to the most disadvantaged social groups in Moldova.[59]
In March 2024, the Constitutional Court declared that while the party is deemed unconstitutional, individuals linked to the party may not be forbidden to run for office. Maia Sandu said she would "respect the ruling, but continue trying to ban its leaders."[60]
The party was variously described as left-wing.[17][18][19][20][21][22] and right-wing.[24][25][26][27] Some had also classified it as centrist,[16] or centre-left.[10] Its 2019 programme introduced the following points:[62]
A commitment to law and order including both reinstating the death penalty for particularly dangerous criminals and addressing the underlying socioeconomic issues that may cause crime.
The opening paragraphs of the party's 2008 election programme stated that it viewed the average person's quality of life as superior under the Soviet Union when compared to modern times. It further stated that it viewed Moldova's alleged socio-economic problems as relating to Moldova's negative relationship with the Russian Federation.[63] As of 2021, the party supported moving the capital to Orhei.[64] It proposed to improve the socioeconomic situation of Moldovans by restoring Soviet economic policies, such as “measures to restore agriculture through the reconstitution of state farms” and “the nationalization of industry”.[65] When in Parliament, the party voted together with the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova. Economically, Şor spoke for a decisive role of the state in key sectors of the economy such as infrastructure, transport, communications, energy, housing and utilities, social trade, pharmaceuticals and ecology. It also postulated reducing energy tariffs and nationalization of energy companies owned by foreign capital.[66]
The party attracted and appealed to the most disadvantaged groups of Moldovan society, including pensioners and rural dwellers. One of the means of the party's promotion were its own chain of stores Merishor, which was meant to target and aid the poorest.[59] Merishor are referred to as "social supermarkets" by the party and commercialize low-price foodstuff for socially vulnerable groups; media reports alleged that the supermarket membership card was offered in exchange for joining the Şor party.[67] Şor also focused on living cost crisis, including rising gas and energy prices as well as inflation, and organized protests against the Moldovan government and its economically liberal policies.[68] The party also advocates for universal healthcare, free education, disability benefits and the creation of collective farms - in 2018, a party created its own collective farm, which it labelled the "Commune of the Dream".[69]
In regards to foreign policy, Şor expressed positive attitudes towards Russia and Soviet Union, and appealed to the sense of nostalgia for Soviet times. The party declaredd itself for Moldovan independence and military neutrality, stating: “We are firm in terms of maintaining and unconditionally consolidating Moldovan statehood and its military neutrality.” The party opposes the European Union, and accused the envoys of the Moldovan government to the EU as acting against the interest of Moldova and for their own financial gain: “We have decided on our own, putting the interests of Moldova and its citizens first. This is exactly what Michalko [EU Ambassador to Chisinau] does not like. He wants the country’s sovereign decisions to be made in his office. That’s why Michalko spits on the presumption of innocence and attacks the Shor Party. He understands that we will not act in the interests of a self-proclaimed administrator from outside, but exclusively in the citizens’ interests.” Similarly, the party accused the Moldovan government of embezzling the funds received from the EU, with the party's representative Marina Tauber stating: “Peter Michalko has spoken recently about one billion euros invested in the Republic of Moldova. I go to villages very often and ask people if they have seen any investment. They say no. So I’m wondering in whose pockets this billion euros invested by the EU went.”[70]
^ abStrazzari, Francesco; Bolkvadze, Ketevan; Machavariani, Maia; Putină, Natalia; Sniadanko, Oleksandr; Petrov, Roman; Gueudet, Sophie; Teosa, Valentina (30 September 2024). "Hybridity and hybrid regimes in the Eastern Neighbourhood in a time of war and increased geopolitical tensions"(PDF). D7.1 Background Paper. European Union's Horizon Europe: 28. The main left-wing parties, such as Igor Dodon's Socialist Party, Renato Usatîi's "Our Party" and formerly the Communist Party, the Former "Sor" Party, were dependent on Moscow, which provides them with financial, political and media support, considering them as tools for its own political objectives towards Moldova.
^ abTăbârță, Ion. "The early parliamentary elections of July 11, 2021: the Republic of Moldova between past and future"(PDF). Power, Politics & Policy (14). IDIS „Viitorul”: 1. The main left and center-left parties registered in this electoral race were: the Electoral Block of Communists and Socialists (BeCS), the "Șor" Party, the "Renato Usatii" Electoral Bloc (Be"RU"), the Common Action Party – the Civic Congress and the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM).
^ abSocor, Vladimir (2 July 2020). "Igor Dodon, Moldova's Strawman Dictator (Part Two)". Eurasia Daily Monitor. 17 (96). The leftist competitors are the fugitive billionaire Ilan Shor's "Shor Party" and the Moscow-parachuted Balti city mayor Renato Usatii's Our Party.
^ abCosta, Raúl Sánchez (14 February 2023). "Moldavia teme ser la próxima víctima de los intentos de desestabilización del Kremlin" [Moldova fears it will be the next victim of Kremlin attempts to destabilise]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2025. Por su parte, el partido nacionalista de derecha radical Șor ha arremetido contra Sandu al acusarla de usurpación de poder, al mismo tiempo que ha animado a convocar nuevas protestas para este domingo [For its part, the radical right-wing nationalist party Șor has attacked Sandu by accusing her of usurping power, while encouraging new protests to be called for this Sunday.]
^ abFeertchak, Alexis (22 February 2019). "Législatives en Moldavie: on vous explique pourquoi ce scrutin est stratégique". Le Figaro (in French). D'autres partis sont aussi favorables à un rapprochement avec la Russie, comme les communistes, qui ont gouverné le pays de 2001 à 2009, ou «Șor», parti situé à droite sur l'échiquier politique. [Other parties are also in favour of closer ties with Russia, such as the Communists, who governed the country from 2001 to 2009, or ‘Șor’, a party on the right of the political spectrum.]
^ ab"Disinformation and Civil Society Mapping Report"(PDF). Black Sea Report. 2. TechSoup: 8. September 2023. Moldova, by contrast, is experiencing a relatively stable political period, with the pro-European governing party, the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS)↗, controlling 62% of parliamentary seats. Other parties with significant parliamentary representation include the left political alliance of BECS (The Bloc of Communists and Socialists) and the populist right-wing party PPȘ (Shor Party)↗.
^ abBayou, Céline (20 July 2021). "Moldavie: un nouveau PAS à droite après la victoire du parti de Maia Sandu" [Moldova: New PAS on the right after the victory of Maia Sandu's party]. Regard sur L'est (in French). Retrieved 4 January 2025. Loin derrière, le Bloc des Communistes et Socialistes (BECS) a recueilli seulement 27 % des voix et le Parti Șor (du nom d'Ilan Şor, l'ancien maire d'Orhei, droite nationaliste et russophile) – 5,7 %. [Far behind, the Bloc of Communist and Socialists (BECS) collected only 27% of the votes and the Șor Party (named after Ilan Şor, the former mayor of Orhei, nationalist and Russophile right) – 5.7%.]
^"Archived copy". a.cec.md. Archived from the original on 8 September 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
