Democracy News
Moldovan Ruling Coalition Rebounds After Post-Election Violence
April 13, 2010
By: Randi Zung | Printer Friendly
In April 2009, following parliamentary elections, early results indicated that the Communist Party would continue to maintain its control over the Moldovan government. In response, protestors took to the streets of the capital city of Chisinau, resulting in the vandalization of the parliament and presidential buildings, the German Marshall Fund (GMF) reports. During the incident, hundreds of protestors reported being attacked by police forces. The violence signaled the beginning of a political deadlock between the then-ruling Community Party parliamentary coalition and the anti-Communist opposition.
After the April-elected parliament failed to agree upon the election of a new president, parliament was dissolved – forcing another parliamentary election to be held in July 2009. Following the second parliamentary election, the opposition secured control of the parliament by forming a four-party coalition; nevertheless, the Communist Party retained enough seats to reject the new coalition’s presidential nomination. According to Moldovan law, because the parliament twice failed to elect a president, parliamentary elections will take place for a third time in 2010; however, because the Moldovan constitution states that parliament cannot be dissolved more than once during a 12 month period, Mihai Ghimpu, a veteran member of Moldovan parliament, was appointed as acting-President following the resignation of Communist President Vladimir Voronin in September 2009. Ghimpu will be in office until the next parliamentary election.
According to the US Department of State’s 2009 Human Rights Report, three individuals died as a result of the post-election violence last April. In addition, the report states that the police “used cruel and degrading arrest and interrogation methods” on detained protestors. Under the old government, individuals who were found guilty of administering inhumane punishments faced heavy penalties, but victim complaints were rarely followed up. Following the establishment of the ruling four-party opposition coalition, police officials who were involved in the April 2009 post-election violence were subsequently prosecuted for their actions. Under the current ruling opposition coalition, a commission was established to investigate accusations and incidents of police brutality.
One year after the April post-election violence, GMF reports that the political landscape in Moldova is drastically different. On the media front, there are now multiple news outlets that express a variety of political opinions, and state run television is now run by an elected team of officials and is not subject to government pressure.
Overall, Prime Minister Vladimir Filat has stated his intentions to work towards further Western-izing the country, focusing on the themes of “responsible governance, economic recovery and development, and investments in human capital.” While the country has made notable gains, Moldova remains the poorest country in Europe. In addition, Russian troops are currently refusing to leave Moldovan land despite official requests from the Moldovan government – resulting in heightened political tensions with Russia.
The government itself is currently experiencing in-fighting over the issue of the upcoming parliamentary election. According to GMF, the current opposition led parliament could dissolve as soon as June 2010 to make way for another parliamentary election to be held later in 2010. Parliamentary members are currently in disagreement on whether the election should be held early or if they should introduce a constitutional referendum to change current procedures on the election of the president and the dissolution of the parliament, AllMoldova reports. The European Commission for Democracy through Law, an advisory body of the Council of Europe (COE) typically referred to as The Venice Commission that specializes in constitutional law, stated that Moldova should hold parliamentary elections early.
On April 7, 2010, at a rally to commemorate the original protest’s anniversary, Prime Minister Filat praised the hundreds of individuals who called for political change, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
Sources:
US Department of State 2009 Human Rights Report: Moldova
German Marshall Fund Blog – Moldova: What A Difference A Year Makes
Also See:
CIA World Factbook - Moldova
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