CHISINAU -- Two Moldovan opposition leaders have accused the authorities of poisoning them, three days before parliamentary elections.
Maia Sandu and Andrei Nastase of the pro-European ACUM (Now) bloc said on February 21 that doctors had discovered heavy metals in their blood.
"Suspicions arise, and against the background of the attitude of the current government to those who they think are dangerous, this case should be taken seriously," Sandu told a press conference in Chisinau.
Nastase added that the authorities "want our deaths."
Vitalie Gamurari, a spokesman for the pro-Western, ruling Democratic Party, rejected the allegation, saying: "Strange accusations have been heard in the last few days and are becoming more and more fantastic."
Besides the Democratic Party, groups competing in the February 24 vote include the Socialists, who favor closer ties to Russia, and the ACUM bloc, which accuses Moldova’s leadership of rampant corruption.
Opinion polls suggest none of them will win an outright majority.
