Politics
Moldova’s Political Standoff Moves To Presidential Vote
Reading Time: 4 minutesOn May 20, lawmakers in Moldova will begin the process of selecting a successor to Vladimir Voronin, the country’s long-time leader.
By Robert Coalson
To the outside observer, it looks a little like a high-stakes game of musical chairs.
On May 20, lawmakers in Moldova will begin the process of selecting a successor to Vladimir Voronin, the country’s long-time leader.
The constitution barred Voronin from seeking a third consecutive term. So on May 12, all 60 Communists in the 101-seat legislature — and no opposition deputies — raised their hands and elected him speaker of parliament.
But Voronin’s Communist Party is one vote short of the 61 needed to elect the next president, meaning it must persuade at least one opposition deputy to vote for the Communist nominee.
The opposition is vowing to boycott the vote in order to prevent the Communists from coaxing out the extra vote it needs. If parliament ultimately fails to elect a president, Moldova will face another round of national legislative elections — and, possibly, more public unrest following last month’s mass demonstrations.
What Voronin would like to see is for parliament to elect his party’s nominee, current Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii, to succeed him as president. Greceanii, in turn, could then nominate Marian Lupu, the former parliament speaker, to replace her as prime minister.
In short, the same players remain in place, but everyone moves one seat to the left.
Levers Of Power
Critics view this rotation as a thinly veiled effort by Voronin to keep the levers of power under his control. Voronin, however, claims the stability scheme is the best solution for the economically troubled country, which is deeply divided between conservatives who seek strong ties to Russia and progressives who yearn for greater integration with the European Union.
Voronin argues the boyish 42-year-old Lupu, and Greceanii, who would be the country’s first female president, can appeal to both East and West, and tackle the country’s economic woes at the same time.
“This combination will be a great success," Voronin says. "Mr. Lupu is a strong economist, and Mrs. Greceanii is a strong financial manager.”
There’s just one problem. Getting Greceanii to the presidency might not be so easy.
Electing the president is the single parliamentary act that requires 61, rather than 60, votes. The Communists are hoping to persuade a single opposition lawmaker to vote for Greceanii.
But the three opposition parties in parliament, which together control 41 seats, are determined to stand united and boycott the presidential election. In fact, they plan to boycott the legislative session altogether in order to make certain no one drifts across the aisle.
A single stray vote could prove hugely embarrassing for the opposition parties.
Early Elections
Serafim Urechean, the head of the Our Moldova Alliance (AMN), tells RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service he is certain none of his party members can be coaxed into crossing over.
“The 61st vote will not come from the AMN," Urechean says. "The AMN stands on its previous position: early elections.”
Vlad Filat, of the Liberal Democratic Party, was equally steadfast.
“We will not take part in the vote and we will not propose any candidate," Filat says. "Early elections are, at this moment, the only chance for the future of Moldova.”
Greceanii, the Communists’ preferred candidate, is a 53-year-old economist who served as finance minister and first deputy prime minister before being made premier last year. A native of Tomsk, Russia, Greceanii is more comfortable speaking Russian than Romanian. Although not a member of the Communist Party, she is widely viewed as a staunch Voronin loyalist.
When it became clear the opposition would not put its own candidate forward, the Communists also nominated Stanislav Groppa, 53, a doctor and director of the Chisinau Neurology Clinic. Groppa is also not a Communist, and his nomination was supported by just 15 deputies.
Complicated Procedure
The election procedure in Moldova is complicated. If neither candidate musters 61 votes on May 20, there will be a second vote within three days. If that vote is inconclusive, there will be another set of two votes within 15 days. The Communists are not obligated to change their nominee.
However, Voronin’s current mandate as acting president expires on June 7. If parliament has not elected a successor by then, new legislative elections will have to be scheduled to replace the deadlocked body.
The last elections in Moldova were marred by charges of widespread fraud. The tension erupted into violence on April 7 that left two people dead, more than 100 people detained, and the parliament and presidential offices in ruins.
The political crisis in Moldova is exacerbated by the global economic crisis, which is increasingly hitting this impoverished country that is heavily dependent on remittances sent back by Moldovans working in Russia, Romania, and elsewhere. The International Monetary Fund has predicted a 5 percent contraction in the country’s economy this year and stagnation in 2010.
Moldova is also plagued by runaway corruption and a long-running separatist dispute with its Transdniester region.
Return Of ‘Civility’
Louis O’Neill, who was the OSCE envoy to Moldova from 2006-08, believes that “civility” must be returned to the country’s political process, badly damaged by the April violence and its aftermath.
“[Moldova] has to, sort of, dig deeper and find a way to achieve national reconciliation," O’Neill says. "And the way things look right now, it going to be difficult to do that.”
Whether Greceanii can serve as a significant unifying figure remains in serious doubt. Even if she wins, she will be elected without significant opposition support. Analysts have speculated that the government may even be holding a handful of the remaining detainees from the April uprising in order to release them as a gesture to the opposition if and when Greceanii is elected.
But would such a gesture be enough to convince the opposition to provide a vote for Greceanii and work with a Communist-dominated government?
Natalia Morar, a journalist and activist who was placed under house arrest for her role in the protests against the last election (she was released earlier this month), tells RFE/RL’s Moldova Service that the situation remains tense. If the presidential vote fails and early elections are called, Morar says, the summer could be critical in determining Moldova’s future path:.
“I think that we’ll face difficult times, but also important ones," Morar says. "And I want to say that now Moldova has lots of chances to really democratize and to make a step really in a European direction. But at the same time we also have lots of chances to make a step in a different direction, a harsh one. We could become a dictatorship, a new one in the European space.”
Dmitry Ciubashenko, a correspondent for Reuters in Chisinau and editor of the Russian-language “Moldavske Vedomosti,” agrees that reconciliation will be difficult to come by.
“I think the instability in Moldovan society, which is profoundly divided and segregated, will increase, and Moldova will not soon arrive either at political stability or economic stability,” Ciubashenko says.
RFE/RL’s Moldova Service contributed to this report.
A new football club has earned a leading place in the UEFA Champions League groups and starred in the headlines of worldwide football news yesterday. The Football Club Sheriff Tiraspol claimed a win with the score 2-1 against Real Madrid on the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. That made Sheriff Tiraspol the leader in Group D of the Champions League, including the football club in the groups of the most important European interclub competition for the first time ever.
International media outlets called it a miracle, a shock and a historic event, while strongly emphasizing the origin of the team and the existing political conflict between the two banks of the Dniester. “Football club from a pro-Russian separatist enclave in Moldova pulls off one of the greatest upsets in Champions League history,” claimed the news portals. “Sheriff crushed Real!” they said.
Moldovans made a big fuss out of it on social media, splitting into two groups: those who praised the team and the Republic of Moldova for making history and those who declared that the football club and their merits belong to Transnistria – a problematic breakaway region that claims to be a separate country.
Both groups are right and not right at the same time, as there is a bunch of ethical, political, social and practical matters that need to be considered.
Is it Moldova?
First of all, every Moldovan either from the right or left bank of Dniester (Transnistria) is free to identify himself with this achievement or not to do so, said Vitalie Spranceana, a sociologist, blogger, journalist and urban activist. According to him, boycotting the football club for being a separatist team is wrong.
At the same time, “it’s an illusion to think that territory matters when it comes to football clubs,” Spranceana claimed. “Big teams, the ones included in the Champions League, have long lost their connection both with the countries in which they operate, and with the cities in which they appeared and to which they linked their history. […] In the age of globalized commercial football, teams, including the so-called local ones, are nothing more than global traveling commercial circuses, incidentally linked to cities, but more closely linked to all sorts of dirty, semi-dirty and cleaner cash flows.”
What is more important in this case is the consistency, not so much of citizens, as of politicians from the government who have “no right to celebrate the success of separatism,” as they represent “the national interests, not the personal or collective pleasures of certain segments of the population,” believes the political expert Dionis Cenusa. The victory of FC Sheriff encourages Transnistrian separatism, which receives validation now, he also stated.
“I don’t know how it happens that the “proud Moldovans who chose democracy”, in their enthusiasm for Sheriff Tiraspol’s victory over Real Madrid, forget the need for total and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria!” declared the journalist Vitalie Ciobanu.
Nowadays, FC Sheriff Tiraspol has no other choice than to represent Moldova internationally. For many years, the team used the Moldovan Football Federation in order to be able to participate in championships, including international ones. That is because the region remains unrecognised by the international community. However, the club’s victory is presented as that of Transnistria within the region, without any reference to the Republic of Moldova, its separatist character being applied in this case especially.
Is it a victory?
In fact, FC Sheriff Tiraspol joining the Champions League is a huge image breakthrough for the Transnistrian region, as the journalist Madalin Necsutu claimed. It is the success of the Tiraspol Club oligarchic patrons. From the practical point of view, FC Sheriff Tiraspol is a sports entity that serves its own interests and the interests of its owners, being dependent on the money invested by Tiraspol (but not only) oligarchs.
Here comes the real dilemma: the Transnistrian team, which is generously funded by money received from corruption schemes and money laundering, is waging an unequal fight with the rest of the Moldovan football clubs, the journalist also declared. The Tiraspol team is about to raise 15.6 million euro for reaching the Champions League groups and the amounts increase depending on their future performance. According to Necsutu, these money will go directly on the account of the club, not to the Moldovan Football Federation, creating an even bigger gab between FC Sheriff and other football clubs from Moldova who have much more modest financial possibilities.
“I do not see anything useful for Moldovan football, not a single Moldovan player is part of FC Sheriff Tiraspol. I do not see anything beneficial for the Moldovan Football Federation or any national team.”
Is it only about football?
FC Sheriff Tiraspol, with a total estimated value of 12.8 million euros, is controlled by Victor Gusan and Ilya Kazmala, being part of Sheriff Holding – a company that controls the trade of wholesale, retail food, fuels and medicine by having monopolies on these markets in Transnistria. The holding carries out car trading activities, but also operates in the field of construction and real estate. Gusan’s people also hold all of the main leadership offices in the breakaway region, from Parliament to the Prime Minister’s seat or the Presidency.
The football club is supported by a holding alleged of smuggling, corruption, money laundering and organised crime. Moldovan media outlets published investigations about the signals regarding the Sheriff’s holding involvement in the vote mobilization and remuneration of citizens on the left bank of the Dniester who participated in the snap parliamentary elections this summer and who were eager to vote for the pro-Russian socialist-communist bloc.
Considering the above, there is a great probability that the Republic of Moldova will still be represented by a football club that is not identified as being Moldovan, being funded from obscure money, growing in power and promoting the Transnistrian conflict in the future as well.
Photo: unknown
Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Natalia Gavrilita, together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nicu Popescu, pay an official visit to Brussels, between September 27-28, being invited by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles.
Today, Prime Minister had a meeting with Charles Michel, President of the European Council. The Moldovan PM thanked the senior European official for the support of the institution in strengthening democratic processes, reforming the judiciary and state institutions, economic recovery and job creation, as well as increasing citizens’ welfare. Natalia Gavrilita expressed her confidence that the current visit laid the foundations for boosting relations between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, so that, in the next period, it would be possible to advance high-level dialogues on security, justice and energy. Officials also exchanged views on priorities for the Eastern Partnership Summit, to be held in December.
“The EU is open to continue to support the Republic of Moldova and the ambitious reform agenda it proposes. Moldova is an important and priority partner for us,” said Charles Michel.
Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita also met with Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy, expressing her gratitude for the support received through the OMNIBUS macro-financial assistance program. The two officials discussed the need to advance the recovery of money from bank fraud, to strengthen sustainable mechanisms for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Moldova, and to standardize the customs and taxes as one of the main conditions for deepening cooperation with the EU in this field.
Additionally, Prime Minister spoke about the importance of the Eastern Partnership and the Deep Free Trade Agreement, noting that the Government’s policies are aimed at developing an economic model aligned with the European economic model, focused on digitalization, energy efficiency and the green economy.
A common press release of the Moldovan Prime Minister with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, Josep Borrell Fontelles, took place today, where the agenda of Moldova’s reforms and the main priorities to focus on in the coming months were presented: judiciary reform; fighting COVID-19 pandemic; promoting economic recovery and conditions for growth and job creation; strengthening state institutions and resilience of the country.
“I am here to relaunch the dialogue between my country and the European Union. Our partnership is strong, but I believe there is room for even deeper cooperation and stronger political, economic and sectoral ties. I am convinced that this partnership is the key to the prosperity of our country and I hope that we will continue to strengthen cooperation.”
The Moldovan delegation met Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice. Tomorrow, there are scheduled common meetings with Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Adina Valean, European Commissioner for Transport and Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy.
Prime Minister will also attend a public event, along with Katarina Mathernova, Deputy Director-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations.
Photo: gov.md
Politics
Promo-LEX about Maia Sandu’s UN speech: The president must insist on appointing a rapporteur to monitor the situation of human rights in Transnistria
The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, pays an official visit to New York, USA, between September 21-22. There, she participates in the work of the United Nations General Assembly. According to a press release of the President’s Office, the official will deliver a speech at the tribune of the United Nations.
In this context, the Promo-LEX Association suggested the president to request the appointment of a special rapporteur in order to monitor the situation of human rights in the Transnistrian region. According to Promo-LEX, the responsibility for human rights violations in the Transnistrian region arises as a result of the Russian Federation’s military, economic and political control over the Tiraspol regime.
“We consider it imperative to insist on the observance of the international commitments assumed by the Russian Federation regarding the withdrawal of the armed forces and ammunition from the territory of the country,” the representatives of Promo-LEX stated. They consider the speech before the UN an opportunity “to demand the observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the Russian Federation with reference to this territory which is in its full control.”
“It is important to remember about the numerous cases of murder, torture, ill-treatment, forced enlistment in illegal military structures, the application of pseudo-justice in the Transnistrian region, all carried out under the tacit agreement of the Russian Federation. These findings stem from dozens of rulings and decisions issued by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that Russia is responsible for human rights violations in the region.”
The association representatives expressed their hope that the president of the country would give priority to issues related to the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region and would call on relevant international actors to contribute to guaranteeing fundamental human rights and freedoms throughout Moldova.
They asked Maia Sandu to insist on the observance of the obligation to evacuate the ammunition and the military units of the Russian Federation from the territory of the Republic of Moldova, to publicly support the need for the Russian Federation to implement the ECtHR rulings on human rights violations in the Transnistrian region, and to request the appointment of an UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur to monitor the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova.
**
The Promo-LEX Association concluded that 14 out of 25 actions planned within the National Action Plan for the years 2018–2022 concerning respecting human rights in Transnistria were not carried out by the responsible authorities.
The association expressed its concern and mentioned that there are a large number of delays in the planned results. “There is a lack of communication and coordination between the designated institutions, which do not yet have a common vision of interaction for the implementation of the plan.”
Promo-LEX requested the Government of the Republic of Moldova to re-assess the reported activities and to take urgent measures, “which would exclude superficial implementation of future activities and increase the level of accountability of the authorities.”
Photo: peacekeeping.un.org
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