Politics
Note to Moldova: beware the Kiev trap!
Reading Time: 4 minutesAlthough Moldovas elections were largely fair, the countrys politics now risk going the way of Ukraines
By Louis O’Neill
Although Moldova’s elections were largely fair, the country’s politics now risk going the way of Ukraine’s
Moldova’s opposition leaders – flush from besting Europe’s last governing Communist party in repeat parliamentary elections on July 29 – need to draw a prompt and essential lesson from their democratic neighbors across the way in Kiev. A lesson on what not to do next.
The Liberal Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Our Moldova Alliance forced these new elections by maintaining a solid front after fraud and violence marred April’s vote. With much fanfare, on August 8 they formed a unity "Coalition for European Integration" with former parliament speaker Marian Lupu and his Democratic Party.
Lupu became the wildcard in this contest by defecting from strongman Vladimir Voronin’s Communists on June 10. A charismatic polyglot, he garnered a respectable 13 seats in his new democratic garb. These made him indispensible to both the opposition and Communists for electing the speaker of parliament and approving a government, which only require a simple majority vote.
But with a four-party bloc facing them, this time around it is the disciplined Communists who will have enough seats to play spoiler and potentially throw the country once again into the Ukrainian-style political turmoil it experienced these last several months.
This is because Moldova elects its president indirectly, in parliament, by a super-majority of 61 out of 101 seats. Despite the opposition’s legitimate and much-vaunted "victory," the Communists remain by far the country’s single most popular party. Controlling nearly half the seats in the legislature (48 to the united opposition’s 53), they can block any presidential candidate they wish. On top of this, Voronin is still currently acting president and the Moldovan constitution, twisted with contradictions, fails to spell out clearly when he must relinquish the post in the absence of a new, duly-elected chief executive.
Compromise seems unlikely, because the original three opposition parties have declared that they will not horse-trade with their hated red rivals under any circumstances. In fact, this vow played a prominent role in their election campaigns. They may perceive that breaking their promise could severely damage their credibility and even threaten their livelihood. After all, the last Moldovan politician to form a ruling coalition with the Communists – handing them the presidency in 2005 – got less than 2% of the vote just now, far too little support on which to enter parliament. Lupu has been far more circumspect, suggesting that a deal with his former party might be possible if Voronin leaves politics.
Perilously, this little country’s complex electoral legislation allows only two relatively quick bites at the apple to elect a president; if none emerges, parliament must once more be dissolved. The rub is that the Moldovan constitution permits only one dissolution of parliament per year, and that has already happened in 2009.
Thus, bar a deal on a grand coalition or a neutral president acceptable to all, Voronin will argue that he remains acting president until a new, elected president is sworn in. The opposition will say that the new speaker of parliament (whom it will select quite soon with its simple majority) should, by succession in the absence of a full-fledged president, become the country’s acting head. Both arguments have support in law, and so it may fall to the constitutional court – notoriously friendly to the Communists – to decide who will be Moldova’s leader until next year.
And the Moldovan constitution isn’t even clear about when in 2010 another round of elections could take place. Some scholars say that it would have to wait until April 5, a year from when the dissolved parliament was constituted. Others argue that the constitution allows for one dissolution per calendar year, such that January 1 would mark the threshold. Once again, enter the constitutional court.
All these tortuous rules and the political wrangling they generate tee up a real danger that Moldovan political life could become Ukrainized. Just as after the 2004 Orange Revolution, the Moldovan opposition has issued an impressive, multi-point plan to establish the rule of law and protect basic freedoms, combat the economic crisis, "de-verticalize" power and establish a prudent foreign policy advancing European integration. Falling into a cul-de-sac Kiev approach to governing would surely please one particularly influential actor in the region. But it would stop these ambitious plans dead in their tracks. This trap must be avoided to maintain the momentum of these largely fair elections and get real reform moving in this, the poorest and most isolated country in Europe.
There is no doubt that Ukraine is a much freer place thanks to the Orange Revolution. Civil society has become more muscular and no one has a monopoly on political power. The press is remarkably open and interesting, so much so that top Russian journalists like Yevgeniy Kiselyov and Savik Shuster have fled Moscow’s censorship to set up shop in Kiev. A lot of good has been done.
But the Orange Revolution has failed when it comes to obtaining steady, statesman-like leadership from its architects. None of the players has shown the ability to put aside pettiness and ambition to advance the abiding interests of the country. In post-Soviet places, just like anywhere else, the key to long-term, value-added economic growth and the realization of human potential comes from changing a culture of corruption, breathing life into the rule of law and creating institutions that work for people, not despite them. Making this transition requires striking while the iron is hot through reconciliation, collaboration and the hard work of reform.
Voronin cannot be president again and it is very unlikely he will be able to nip four opposition votes to be re-elected speaker. For the sake of his country, it is time for him to relinquish the dream of being Moldova’s mini Deng Xiaoping and make room for a new generation. For their part, the opposition needs to be very mindful that the Communists have a legitimate and solid base of political support that should be respected, and that refusing to work with them is like refusing to use the left half of your body. Lupu, both patriot and opportunist, must do everything in his ability to negotiate an outcome that takes into account the many passions and currents in Moldovan society, even if it means that he does not become president.
All Moldovans should be proud of what they have done with these elections. Let us hope they can be equally proud of their leaders in the next months and beyond.
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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