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THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA PREPARES FOR ELECTIONS 23/02/2009
(2009-02-23)
Last updated: 2009-02-24 14:52 EET Print
Looking, for a long period of time, like a place where nothing happens, the Republic of Moldova, a former soviet country with a majority Romanian speaking population, seems to have finally awoken. In early 2001, Moldova was the first state behind the former Iron Curtain where communists, without using the umbrella of Socialism or Social Democracy, as happened in the neighboring countries, regained power after winning the elections. Since then, they have done nothing but consolidate their power. The rest of their electoral promises and goals remained unfulfilled. Instead of seeing a fast economic recovery, Moldova became the poorest country in Europe. Instead of regaining territorial integrity, Chisinau’s efforts to gain control over the pro Russian separatist region of Transdniester were completely frozen. Instead of getting closer to the EU, the country’s energetic, political and also psychological dependency on Russia grew even stronger. Instead of establishing normal ties with neighboring Romania, the Chisinau officials’ anti-Romanian rhetoric became extremely virulent. All these were made possible by the pro-Russian electorate and by old and nostalgic voters, dependent on social assistance. Outraged by the lack of progress, more than 20 thousand people took to the streets of Chisinau on Sunday, urging the Government to grant the Moldovans living abroad the right to vote in the parliamentary elections scheduled for April the 5th. No less than 1 million Moldovan citizens are living outside the country’s borders, accounting for one quarter of the country’s total population. Opinion polls show the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vlad Filat, is the best placed candidate of all pro-European parties. He says the constant refusal of the communist authorities to grant the Moldovans living abroad the right to vote proves the communists are afraid of the votes cast by free citizens. Protesters called on the authorities to open polling stations in countries which are home to large Moldovan communities, even if no Moldovan diplomatic missions have been opened in those states, or supplement the number of polling stations in the regions inhabited by a large number of ethnic Moldovans. They also call on the authorities to inform the Moldovans living abroad on the places where they can cast their votes. The protesters also demanded free and fair elections.

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