| THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA – STILL A COMMUNIST COUNTRY 06/04/2009 |
| (2009-04-06) |
| Last updated: 2009-04-07 14:40 EET |
The fact that the Communist Party won Sunday's elections in the Republic of Moldova came as no surprise to anybody, as opinion polls had already indicated a landslide victory. What came as a surprise, though, was the big difference between the estimated and the real percentages, that is 36% and 50% respectively. Here is what professor Dan Dungaciu, with Bucharest University, told us about that:
“The data that we had before the election did not indicate such a big difference in results. And this is the source of the reticence displayed by the opposition leaders, who talked rather bluntly about the fact that elections were rigged and that, depending on that conclusion, to the extent that it becomes evidence, the necessary measures would be taken."
The stake of Sunday's elections is the very European future of the Republic of Moldova, given that Parliament the country's president, analysts warn. With over 50%, the Communist Party now holds enough seats to form the government and to place one of them as head of Parliament, to the discontent of some of the voters who had wished for a new leadership, one that would hopefully raise the standard of living in the country. Even though between 1991 – 1994 their party had been declared illegal, the communists came to power in the Republic of Moldova back in 2001, with a pro-Russian governing platform, and, quite curiously, turned towards the EU, in which they saw the source of important material resources that the country could use to develop economically. The communists maintained, however, their strategic relations with the Russian Federation, as Kishinev depends on the former both economically, due to the gas imports, and politically, because of the conflict in the breakaway region of Transdnestr.
Getting back to Sunday's elections, we can see that if the percentages the Communists got are far better than anticipated, the voting figures won by the centre and left wing parties are very close to what opinion polls had shown. The great loser is the People's Christian Democratic Party, a promoter in the 1990s of the union between the Republic of Moldova and Romania. For 20 years, this party had its seats in parliament and disappointed its voters in the previous legislative term, when it became one of the allies of the communist party headed by Voronin, the president whose term in office is due to end, making room for another communist leader.
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2025-04-03
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