Critical elections for Moldova
The second ballot of local elections will take place in the Republic of Moldova on Sunday.
Bogdan Matei, 26.06.2015, 14:12
On June 14, 439 cities and villages in the Republic of Moldova elected their mayors as part of the first round of local elections. The results of the vote have tilted the political balance in favour of coalition government parties, the Liberal-Democratic Party and the Democratic Party, which grabbed some two thirds of the total seats in local administrations. The vote also revealed an increase in peoples votes for the populist, communist and socialist parties in opposition. Russian-backed candidates however got hold of two strategic positions: the mayorship of Balti in the north, Moldovas second-largest city, and of Orhei, in the center.
In Balti, with over 70% of the vote, the new mayor is Renato Usatii, a controversial businessman and populist politician. Last year his party was denied participation in legislative elections, reportedly for having been illegally funded by Russia. The city of Orhei got an equally contentious figure, Isareli-born Ilan Shaor, who grabbed 60% of the vote. Aged 28, Shaor is already a millionaire and an overt advocate of Russias annexation of Moldova. In order to run for office, Shaor was allowed to leave house arrest. Shaor was detained after 1 billion dollars mysteriously dissaperared from three key banks in what the authorities have termed ‘the theft of the century.
After reporting humiliating defeats to these controversial figures, pro-European parties need to secure a win in Sundays second round of local election, which will decide the mayors and local officials in another 459 towns and villages. On both sides of the political spectrum, Chisinau is the much coveted prize. The capital city is home to a third of the countrys population and accounts for half of its GDP. Here, political analysts believe the vote carries huge stakes.
Voters will have to choose between the acting mayor, young Liberal Dorin Chirtoaca, a Bucharest Law School graduate who does not refrain from taking pride in his Romanian identity, and former Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii, who is now running on behalf of the Socialist Party in opposition. The choice is also one between Europe and Russia, analysts also believe, who say if Chirtoaca is supported by other pro-European parties if elected, the former pro-Western ruling coalition might be put back together, by bringing the Liberal Party to power alongside the Democrats and the Liberal-Democrats. The three parties have ruled together since 2009 until February this year, when the Liberals switched to the opposition. After a failed and much criticized attempt to govern, Chiril Gaburicis minority Cabinet stepped down two weeks ago, thus opening up the possibility for building a new government.
