The Director-General of Teleradio-Moldova, Vlad Țurcanu, has announced his resignation after the Moldovan jury awarded Romania’s entry just three points at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, whilst Ukraine received no points at all. The decision was announced on Monday, 18 May, during a press briefing. According to the law, his resignation will also bring an end to the terms of office of his two deputy directors – Andrei Zapșa and Cornel Ciobanu.
When announcing his resignation, Țurcanu described as “a serious and extraordinary matter the fact that the jury failed to take into account the sensitivities that exist between the Republic of Moldova and our two neighbours – Romania and Ukraine”. “My resignation is a sign that the fraternal relations the Republic of Moldova enjoys with Romania, as well as our gratitude towards Ukraine for its daily sacrifices, remain unchanged. Our attitude towards Ukraine is not one of indifference, and our feelings for Romania can only be ones of love,” he added.
Vlad Țurcanu will continue to carry out his duties until the TRM Supervisory Board appoints a new director-general.
Responding to journalists’ questions, Țurcanu stated that he had learnt of the results of the vote on the evening of Saturday 16 May, a few hours before they were publicly announced during the final, and that he had not been involved in all the details of this competition nor in the selection of the jury members: “It is a large organisation and, usually, I delegate responsibilities to colleagues who deal directly with these matters.” Furthermore, “it is not permissible under the regulations to intervene, and it would have been the last thing I would have wanted to do to interfere in the jury’s decisions”.
He was keen to emphasise that, during his tenure as manager of the public media service provider, he managed and implemented several projects of critical importance to Teleradio-Moldova, which strengthened its status as a public institution: “These projects must not be allowed to suffer”.
At Eurovision 2026, controversy arose after the Moldovan jury awarded Romania just three points, even though the Moldovan public vote totalled 12 points for Romania’s representative, Alexandra Căpitănescu. At the same time, Ukraine’s performance received no points in the contest. The issue sparked critical reactions online and in the public sphere in Romania and the Republic of Moldova. Shortly afterwards, some members of the jury explained that the assessment had been based on rehearsals, not exclusively on the performance in the final. Subsequently, Vlad Țurcanu spoke out publicly in response to the criticism, highlighting, amongst other things, the regulatory framework governing the voting process.
Vlad Țurcanu was appointed director of Teleradio-Moldova in December 2021.