Irina Gutnic claims that authorities dismissed her illegally from the position of deputy mayor of Chisinau. She accuses Mayor Ion Ceban of abusing his power and politically managing City Hall.
During a press conference at IPN, Irina Gutnic stated that she learned about the dismissal from the media and that nobody communicated the reasons for the decision to her directly.
“I do not know the real reasons for my dismissal because Ion Ceban did not have the courage to look me in the eye and explain his decision. I found out from the press. This has become common practice when authorities dismiss inconvenient colleagues,” the former deputy mayor said.
According to Gutnic, the order signed by Ion Ceban violates legal provisions regulating the dismissal of a deputy mayor.
“Ion Ceban signed an illegal order. According to the law, a deputy mayor can be dismissed only through a decision of the Chisinau Municipal Council approved by a majority vote following the mayor’s proposal. We are dealing with an illegal administrative act, an abuse of power, and a blatant disregard for the law,” Irina Gutnic stated.
She announced that she would challenge the decision in court.
“I will challenge this decision in court, not to return to City Hall alongside Ion Ceban and not for the position itself, but because the law must be respected and because nobody should turn the administration of Chisinau into one man’s personal LLC,” Gutnic said.
She also claimed that her decision to speak openly about certain practices inside the municipal administration led to her dismissal.
“The real reason for this dismissal is something else, and everyone knows it. I started calling things by their names, and I stopped accepting certain practices,” she said.
Gutnic also stated that tensions between her and the leadership of National Alternative Movement began after party leaders created the Alternativa bloc.
“We joined the MAN team believing we represented a pro-European and democratic project. The leadership created the Alternativa bloc without consulting the team. The Alternativa bloc was and remains a project against European values,” Gutnic declared.
She announced that she is leaving the party and will submit her resignation as president of MAN’s Chisinau territorial organization.
Ion Ceban responded to the accusations made by Irina Gutnic:
“We do not intend to respond to a lady upset about losing her position and going public to pour out her frustration. I personally informed her about the dismissal. She carried out and continues to carry out a role based on instructions coming from outside, just like her longtime friend Andrei Spinu did in the Party of Action and Solidarity and in government. At a time when Chisinau has the most projects, the best financial situation, the largest number of internal and external partners, and continues to develop, people inside and outside the institution are trying to compromise our work. We will continue to work.”
Five months ago, journalists from TV8 published an investigation alleging that Irina Gutnic owned several luxury vehicles that she had not listed in her asset declaration, including a BMW iX Electric reportedly worth around EUR 100,000, or nearly 2 million lei. Gutnic denied owning any vehicle.
Regarding two apartments she allegedly purchased at a preferential price in a building intended for employees of Apa-Canal Chisinau while serving as the company’s director, Gutnic admitted purchasing the properties but denied planning to resell them and insisted that her actions were legal.
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