Posted on July 30, 2009 - by Venik

Moldova votes out Europe’s last ruling Communists

Pro-EU opposition parties win surprise victory three months after ‘Twitter revolution’

Europe’s last ruling Communist party was today swept from power after pro-EU opposition parties in Moldova won a surprise victory in parliamentary elections.

With almost all of the results counted after yesterday’s poll, the Communists received 45.1% of the vote, or around 48 seats in the 101-member parliament. The four largest opposition parties gained 50.7%, which would give them 53 seats.

Today’s defeat for the Communists follows their slender victory in April during Moldova’s last parliamentary election. The result led to violent demonstrations by young pro-opposition activists in the capital Chisinau, dubbed the Twitter revolution.

The protesters stormed and set fire to Moldova’s parliament building. The government blamed the riots on neighbouring EU member Romania, kicking out Romania’s ambassador. The opposition said government agents were behind the uprising.

The result left the Communists one vote short of being able to elect a president. After several months of deadlock, Moldova’s veteran Communist leader Vladimir Vorinin was forced to dissolve parliament and hold fresh elections. After eight years as president, Voronin is now expected to leave power.

Today Moldova’s victorious opposition parties said they were preparing to form a new coalition. “Democracy and truth have finally been victorious,” said Vlad Filat, leader of the Liberal Democrats, who came second behind the Communists, with 16.4%.

He told Reuters: “There will definitely be a coalition, a wide coalition in the interests of the people. We will find the necessary compromise and find agreement so that Moldova finally gets democratic rule.”

The Liberals were in third place with 14.4%, the Democratic party fourth with 12.5% and the Our Moldova Alliance in fifth place with 7.4%.

Moldova is officially the poorest country in Europe. It has a population of less than 5 million, with large numbers of migrants working in the EU. Although it is mired in economic problems, it is one of the few post-Soviet countries where relatively free and fair elections take place.

Today analysts said the new government was likely to adopt a pro-EU “tilt”, and enact important market reforms, but without alienating Russia. Moldova’s most likely new president is Marian Lupu – the former Communist party speaker who defected to the opposition Democratic party.

The opposition parties do not have enough votes on their own to elect the president, and will be forced to horse-trade with the Communists. Lupu is the most likely candidate to attract the support of some Communist deputies, analysts believe.

“It’s surprising,” Natalia Leshchenko, an analyst at Global Insight, said of today’s poll result. “It’s very significant. It’s the first time for more than a decade that a regime has changed in a post-Soviet country via the ballot box, and without the need for the opposition to challenge the results on the streets.”

She added: “I think the biggest change will be in terms of the way the country is run domestically. The opposition includes businesspeople who want proper market reform. In terms of foreign policy it isn’t either the EU or Russia. There will be more of a tilt towards the EU, obviously, but without causing conflict with Russia.”

The Communists believed in closer ties with Europe, and in April took Moldova into the EU’s new “eastern partnership” programme, together with Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan. But they also see Moscow as a vital “strategic partner”.

Russia keeps troops in Moldova’s separatist Transdniestria region and supplies over 90% of the nation’s energy. It has promised $500m in loans to help Moldova through the global economic crisis. China offered $1bn.

Today the election commission said 58.8% of the 2.6 million Moldovans eligible to vote had cast their ballots, up from 54% in April. Only parties that received more than 5% of votes are eligible for parliamentary representation.

Original article

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