Pro-Europese Communistische Partij wint verkiezingen Moldavië (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Moldova's former pro-Russian Communists, who have now turned towards the West won a majority in the parliamentary elections on Sunday (6 March).

With nearly 98% of the votes counted, the Central Election Commission today announced a 46% victory for the Communists.

The party however failed to secure enough seats to re-elect President Vladimir Voronin. They will now have to strike a deal with one of the other parties elected to secure a majority for the president, which is three-fifths (61%) of the seats.

The pro-Russian Centrist Democratic Moldova Bloc ranked 2nd with 28% of the vote and the Christian Democrats third with 14%. Only these three parties, out of 15 competing for the 101 seats, obtained enough votes to secure seats in the Parliament.

The new Parliament has 45 days to choose a president, after which it must hold new parliamentary elections, should it fail to do so.

Without a majority, President Voronin's re-election is not secure. The final results are expected to be announced on Wednesday.

"I have to be happy in the name of our party that we got this result", said the architect of the Communists' election campaign, Victor Stepaniuc.

Shift to the West

According to the Independent newspaper, the Communist's victory is related to the fact that the president himself leans towards the West. Drawing lessons from the Ukrainian and Georgian examples, Mr Voronin has lately become communist only in name.

In a setback to relations with Moscow, Mr Voronin said the 1,200 Russian "peacekeepers" who are stationed in the self-proclaimed "Transnistria" republic must leave. He also denied the entry of 100 Russian election observers, and back-pedalled on a pledge to make Russian the country's official second language (most of Moldova is Romanian-speaking).

Russia hit back by threatening sanctions over the price of oil and gas that it supplies to Moldova.

Moldova is one of the poorest countries and the last communist country in Europe.

Observation missions from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe concluded today that elections "were generally in compliance with most OSCE commitments and other international election standards". Still, at least one Moldovan party claimed the vote was rigged.