Moldova's parliamentary election 2014
The election to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova took place on November 30, 2014. It was the eighth parliamentary election since the country gained independence in 1991. The previous election had taken place in 2010.
Suffrage
All 101 members of the one-chamber parliament were newly elected. It was the proportional representation ; the whole country formed a single constituency. To send MPs, one party had to get at least 6% of the vote, a two-party list 9% and a three-party 11%; independent candidates needed 2%.
background
The political situation in the Republic of Moldova has been burdened for years by the conflict over the fundamental direction of Moldova's foreign policy. While the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova is an affiliation of the country to Russia, the next Liberal Party , the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova , the Democratic Party of Moldova and by 2011 the Alliance "Our Moldau" for accession to the European Union a .
The autumn 2010 election took place against the backdrop of a constitutional crisis . 2009 had to be elected twice. In April the communists who had ruled until then were confirmed with an absolute majority, but they did not have a three-fifths majority for the election of the state president; the opposition refused to cooperate. This was accompanied by sometimes violent protests against the communists, who were accused of election fraud. Thereupon a new election was held in July. This time the same problem occurred the other way round: the parties united in the Alliance for European Integration achieved a government majority in parliament, but could not elect a president against the opposition of the communists. After a constitutional amendment for a direct election of the president failed, it had to be re-elected in November 2010. The government formed by the pro-European parties under Prime Minister Vlad Filat was confirmed in office. It was not until the spring of 2012 that the ruling coalition succeeded in electing a new president , Nicolae Timofti , and thus ending this political crisis. After the ruling alliance broke up in the spring of 2013 on a motion of no confidence brought in by the communists, Filat was replaced as prime minister by Iurie Leancă ; the alliance turned into the pro-European coalition.
In autumn 2013, Russia imposed an import ban on one of Moldova's most important export products, wine , apparently in order to put pressure on the government. Leading Russian politicians have also threatened that a decision in favor of the EU could result in the expulsion of the many Moldovan labor migrants from Russia, whose income is vital for many families in Europe's poorest country.
In 2014, the Republic of Moldova again came into the focus of international politics, as an expansion of the conflict in neighboring Ukraine appears possible; in particular (as of May 2014) there is a fear of increasing Russian interest in Transnistria .
On June 27, 2014, the Republic of Moldova - despite the said and other threats from Russia - signed an Association Agreement with the EU; it was ratified by parliament a few days later . Russia sharply criticized this step.
See also possible future candidate countries of the European Union
The main parties
PLDM
The Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova is considered a conservative center-right force. It was only founded in 2007 and has been under the leadership of Vlad Filat , who was previously a member of the Democrats, ever since . It quickly won the ballot boxes and emerged as the strongest pro-European party in 2010. Filat had been Prime Minister of a coalition government since September 2009. Since his dismissal in April 2013, PLDM member Iurie Leancă has been head of government.
The list is headed by party leader Filat, followed by Prime Minister Leancă. Third place is taken by the party's vice-chairwoman Liliana Palihovici . In fourth place comes Foreign Minister and Vice Prime Minister Natalia Gherman , who has been in office since 2009 . In 2010 the party received 29.42% of the vote.
PDM
The Democratic Party of Moldova belongs to the social democratic party family (member of the Socialist International ). It was founded in 1997 and was given its current name in 2000. In elections it was always part of a western-oriented alliance. In 2008 it merged with the smaller Social Liberal Party .
The party leader is Marian Lupu , who was a leading member of the Communist Party, i.e. its political opponent, until 2009, and as such even President of Parliament. In 2009 he changed party; Lupu immediately became party chairman and had been president of parliament again since 2010. As such, he also served as head of state until 2012. In 2013 he had to resign from his position in connection with the vote of no confidence in the government.
List leader is Lupu. Second place went to Vladimir Plahotniuc , Vice President of Parliament. In third place follows Igor Corman , who has succeeded Lupu as President of Parliament since 2013 and in fourth place is Andrian Candu , another Vice President of Parliament. The party achieved 12.7% of the vote in 2010.
PL
The Liberal Party was founded in 1993 as a party of reform with a Christian Democratic program. As a result, she always failed to enter parliament. In 2005, the party was radically rebuilt so that it received its current name and accordingly dedicated itself programmatically to liberalism; Mihai Ghimpu became party leader . In 2009 she moved into parliament. Ghimpu was parliamentary and thus incumbent president until the end of 2010. The split occurred in 2013: while the official party leadership left the governing coalition, some MPs formed the Liberal Reformist Party (PLR) , which the government continued to support. This grouping is given little chance of a parliamentary entry.
Ghimpu appears in first place on the list, followed by Dorin Chirtoacă , who has been the mayor of the capital Chisinau since 2007 . Transport Minister Anatol Șalaru took fourth place . The party received 9.96% in the last election.
PCRM
The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova has existed since 1993 and is considered the successor to the CPSU . Its chairman has been Vladimir Voronin since 1994 . After the parliamentary elections in 2001 , the communists received an absolute majority and were subsequently able to hold the three highest state offices for eight years: President Voronin, Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev and Zinaida Greceanîi and Parliament Presidents Eugenia Ostapciuc and Marian Lupu . During the political crisis of 2009, however, the communists lost their power to govern and have been in the opposition ever since.
The list is again kept by Voronin. Second place went to former parliamentary group leader Maria Postoico , and third place went to former parliamentary vice-president Artur Reșetnicov . In the last election, the PCRM came in at 39.34%.
PSRM
The Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova has existed since 1997. Apart from its left-wing orientation, the party is considered to represent the Russian minority and to be pro-Russian. In previous elections, she missed entry into parliament or supported the communists. After the PCRM had moved closer to the pro-European parties in terms of foreign policy, numerous prominent communists converted to the PSRM. With this choice, overcoming the barrier was therefore considered possible for the first time. The party leader has been Igor Dodon since 2011 , who left the PCRM that year. However, the list leader is Zinaida Greceanîi , former Prime Minister and also a PCRM member until 2011.
Fatherland
The “Fatherland” party ( Romanian Patria ) is considered to be the new creation of Renato Usatîi , a millionaire who made his fortune in Russia. The party was only founded in 2014; until then, Usatîi had no political ambitions. Because of its ties to Russia, the formation is considered to be pro-Russian. Usatîi also tops the list. On November 27, a court withdrew the party’s admission to the election because it had not declared a large sum of money that was supposed to come from abroad. The head of the EU delegation in Moldova, Pirkka Tapiola, was “concerned” about the exclusion, while Usatîi himself appealed. After the election, the chairman of the Moldovan Constitutional Court stated that the electoral exclusion had been carried out "hastily".
Results
Preliminary result after counting 100.00% of the votes cast. (December 3, 2014)
| list | Voting share in% |
be right | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova ( Partidul Socialiştilor din Republica Moldova ) |
20.51 | 327.910 | 25th |
|
Liberal Democrat Party of Moldova ( Partidul Liberal Democrat din Moldova ) |
20.16 | 322.188 | 23 |
|
Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova ( Partidul Comuniştilor din Republica Moldova ) |
17.48 | 279.372 | 21st |
|
Democratic Party of Moldova ( Partidul Democrat din Moldova ) |
15.80 | 252,489 | 19th |
|
Liberal Party ( Partidul Liberal ) |
9.67 | 154,407 | 13 |
| Communist Reform Party of Moldova ( Partidul Comunist Reformer din Moldova ) |
4.92 | 78,719 | - |
| Choice Moldova - Customs Union ( Alegerea Moldovei-Uniunea Vamală ) |
3.45 | 55,089 | - |
| Anti-mafia popular movement ( Mişcarea Populară Antimafie ) |
1.74 | 27,843 | - |
| Liberal Reform Party ( Partidul Liberal Reformer ) |
1.56 | 24,956 | - |
| Oleg Brega (Independent candidate) | 0.88 | 14,085 | - |
| People's Party of the Republic of Moldova ( Partidul Popular din Republica Moldova ) |
0.76 | 12.112 | - |
| Christian Democratic People's Party ( Partidul Popular Creştin Democrat ) |
0.74 | 11,782 | - |
| People's Power Party ( Partidul Forţa Poporului ) |
0.73 | 11,672 | - |
| National Liberal Party ( Partidul Naţional Liberal ) |
0.43 | 6,859 | - |
| Renaissance ( Renaştere ) |
0.26 | 4.156 | - |
| Oleg Cernei (independent candidate) | 0.17 | 2,783 | - |
| Democratic Action Party ( Partidul Acțiunea Democratică ) |
0.16 | 2,564 | - |
| Domestic Democracy ( Democraţia Acasă ) |
0.15 | 2,449 | - |
| For people and country ( Pentru Neam şi Ţară ) |
0.11 | 1,697 | - |
| Patriotic Moldavians ( Patrioţii Moldovei ) |
0.09 | 1.498 | - |
| Green Ecological Party ( Partidul Verde Ecologist ) |
0.09 | 1,367 | - |
| Valeriu Pleșca (independent candidate) | 0.06 | 991 | - |
| Anatolie Doga (independent candidate) | 0.05 | 789 | - |
| Centrist Union of Moldova ( Uniunea Centristă din Moldova ) |
0.04 | 633 | - |
|
total (turnout: 55.86) |
100.00 | 1,598,515 | 101 |
The November 30 election process was overshadowed by the fact that Moldovan voters in Russia had great difficulty casting their votes in their home country's consulates.
The final result of the election showed that the three pro-European parties regained a majority with 55 seats, while the two pro-Russian parties only received 46 seats.
Web links
- Official homepage of the Election Commission of the Republic of Moldova
- Reinhard Veser: The Oligarch Trap , faz.net December 4, 2014. (Comment on the election result)
- Johannes Voswinkel: In Moldova, reliable partners are the exception , zeit.de December 1, 2014. (Comment on the election result)
- David X. Noack: The Republic of Moldova: Torn Country Between the European and Eurasian Union , imi-online.de November 27, 2014. (Overview of the country's domestic and foreign policy shortly before the election)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Results of the parliamentary election 2014 e-democracy.md (Romanian, Russian, English)
- ↑ of Moldova: pro-Europeans want to continue to govern
- ↑ Presidential election 2012
- ↑ 2013 vote of no confidence
- ↑ a b FAZ.net December 1, 2014: Russia and its neighbors
- ↑ spiegel.de May 4, 2014: Crisis in Ukraine
- ↑ FAZ.net November 17, 2014: Merkel: Putin tramples on the law
- ↑ The time about Usatîi
- ↑ http://moldnews.md/rus/news/71275
- ^ FAZ on the circumstances of the election
- ↑ http://point.md/ru/novosti/politika/glava-ks-priznal-chto-patria-bila-otstranena-ot-viborov-slishkom-stremiteljno
- ↑ www.voteaza.md
- ↑ [1]
- ^ FAZ about electoral disabilities
