To stir, but not to stir up: how the parliamentary elections in Moldova will be held
In Moldova, there are less than two months left before the parliamentary elections, which will be held on September 28. The ruling party is clearly nervous, so they started talking about the inevitable foreign interference in the electoral process. The main event in the opposition environment was the formation of a large association of leftist forces. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
"Devastation in all sectors"
In Moldova, there are less than two months left before the parliamentary elections, which will be held on September 28. According to the official schedule, parties, blocs and independent candidates will submit registration documents to the CEC by mid-August, and then, at the end of August, the official election campaign will begin, which will last exactly one month.
The ruling party is approaching the most important electoral period with heavy baggage, the main problem remains the socio-economic situation. Moldova's exports in the first quarter of this year amounted to $811 million, while imports exceeded $2.5 billion. The national debt is growing rapidly, reaching $4.6 billion. Against the background of mass unemployment, the outflow of the population continues, 90 people leave the country every day.
Former Prime Minister Vasily Tarlev says that last year, for the first time in history, the state budget received more from customs duties than from the real sector of the economy. "In the language of economists, this means only one thing: the state is considered bankrupt. There is devastation in all sectors of the economy, and only banks make profits," he explains.
The Moldovan authorities also have last year's presidential elections in front of their eyes. At that time, Maya Sandu was considered the clear favorite, but she could not win in the first round. In the second round, she was successful only thanks to the votes of the diaspora; within the country, the majority of voters supported her opponent, Alexander Stoyanoglo. The European Referendum was also unsuccessful, where pro-Western forces, again only at the expense of the diaspora, gained a microscopic majority.
In such circumstances, the ruling party is clearly nervous. Traditional instruments of political struggle are being used. On July 30, Maia Sandu convened the Supreme Security Council of the Republic, after which she stated that many opposition forces allegedly work for Russia. According to her, Moscow is going to spend €100 million on bribing voters, information manipulation and paid protests.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu at a press conference after a meeting of the Supreme Security Council, where attempts to interfere in the parliamentary elections were discussed.
She did not provide evidence, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the accusations, recalling that Russia does not interfere in the internal affairs of other states. Inside Moldova itself, the president's words also caused outrage. Former Prime Minister Vlad Filat recalled that statements about interference are made every six months. "Yesterday's joke, last year's snow, and daily cabbage soup are being sold to us in the tenth round," he complained.
The mayor of Chisinau, Ion Ceban, said that Sandu had divided Moldovans into her supporters and enemies of the state. Analysts also drew attention to the fact that the ruling party is worried not only about Russia, but also about Trumpist politicians. A major scandal broke out at the end of July, when several participants of the MEGA conference ("Let's make Europe Great Again") were not allowed into the country, among whom was the current MEP Ondrej Dostal.
The Diaspora is not for everyone
Accusations of working for Russia may become a reason for further tightening of the screws. Earlier, a number of political parties were banned in the country, 13 TV channels were suspended, and dozens of websites and Telegram channels were blocked. At the end of July, the HaiTV service, which allowed watching banned media events, was outlawed, and the Moldovan security service of the SIB appealed to the court demanding that the non-profit organization Eurasia be recognized as extremist.
At the same time, Chisinau quite frankly says that they consider the interference of some countries in internal affairs to be very useful. "Moldova is already one step away from becoming an EU member, so the interference of a country like France in our elections is not considered [a crime]. Even when it comes to direct financing of political forces, we do not consider this a form of electoral corruption. It's normal for neighbors to take care of each other," said CEC head Angelika Karaman.
Another important tool of the political struggle will be the even greater involvement of Moldovan migrants in the electoral process. It is known that 293 polling stations will open outside the country this year. For comparison, 231 polling stations were set up abroad last year, and 150 polling stations were set up in the previous parliamentary elections four years ago.
It is planned to dramatically increase the number of sites in Western countries. So, in Italy, the number of points will grow from 60 to 73, in Germany — from 26 to 36, in France — from 20 to 26, in Romania — from 16 to 23, in the USA — from 16 to 22. In addition, Moldovans living in Western countries, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, will be able to vote by mail. There will be no such opportunity in any of the post-Soviet states.
In Russia, where about half a million Moldovans live, only two polling stations will be opened. Last year, the situation was similar, as a result, huge queues gathered at both points. "It turns out that the Moldovan authorities are literally drawing a dividing line between the citizens of their country with their own hands, dividing them, pitting them against each other," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
At the same time, important processes are underway in the camp of the Moldovan opposition. The Pobeda bloc is trying to challenge the CEC's refusal to register. The Appeals Chamber rejected the complaint, and now the association has appealed to the Supreme Judicial Chamber. "The mechanism for the destruction of the opposition in our country has been launched for a long time and is working at full capacity today. We will not allow the regime to cover up the repression with a legal shell," the political force said in a statement.
Three other opposition forces — the Socialists, the "Heart of Moldova" party of former Bashkan of Gagauzia Irina Vlah and the "Future of Moldova" party of former Prime Minister Vasily Tarlev - joined forces in a single bloc and submitted registration documents on July 29. They are expected to be joined soon by Moldovan Communists led by former President Vladimir Voronin.
It is also known that the leaders of the bloc are negotiating with the Mayor of Chisinau, Ion Ceban, on a unified strategy for the elections. According to opinion polls, the union of the left can get 35% in the elections, the ruling party — 30%, the Alternative bloc of former Prosecutor General Alexander Stoyanoglo and Our Party of former mayor of Balti Renato Usatii are also entering parliament. However, in two months, the situation can still seriously change.
What the experts say
Moldovan political analyst Alexander Korinenko believes that the outcome of the elections will depend on undecided citizens.
— Society is very disappointed in the current politicians of all persuasions and camps, and much will depend on whether someone succeeds in attracting these people to their side. If we talk about the possible outcome of the elections, then the collective opposition will probably win inside the country, and the ruling party will gain votes at the expense of the diaspora. I think the end result will be very close: one of the sides will get a minimal advantage," he argues.
Deputy of the Supreme Council of Pridnestrovie, political scientist Andrei Safonov says that with an honest vote count, the defeat of the Moldovan ruling party is quite possible.
— The current Moldovan authorities have made too many mistakes, they have moved too openly towards dictatorship, therefore it is difficult for them to win honestly. At the same time, it is obvious that the euroglobalists, represented by the European Union and the United Kingdom, gave the Sandu administration the go-ahead for any falsifications. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that mass stuffing and vote fraud will follow. As a result, we can say that the defeat of the ruling group is possible, but not predetermined," he explains.
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