{"id":97371,"date":"2005-03-06T16:25:00","date_gmt":"2005-03-06T16:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.moldova.org\/2005\/03\/06\/low-turnout-reported-in-moldovan-voting-843-eng\/"},"modified":"2005-03-06T16:25:00","modified_gmt":"2005-03-06T16:25:00","slug":"low-turnout-reported-in-moldovan-voting-843-eng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/low-turnout-reported-in-moldovan-voting-843-eng\/","title":{"rendered":"Low Turnout Reported In Moldovan Voting"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Low turnout is being reported today as voters in Moldova cast ballots in an election that will determine whether the Communist Party maintains its overwhelming majority of the parliament. In Moldova, the parliament is empowered to choose the country’s president. <\/p>\n

There was rain across much of Moldova today as balloting stations opened. Reports say few people could be seen on the streets of the capital, Chisinau, early in the day. <\/p>\n

RFE\/RL correspondent Sergiu Praporscic reports a similar trend in the southern Moldovan town of Cahul: "According to the information given to me by the district election commission of Cahul, fewer than 10 percent of eligible voters had participated during the first two hours of voting." <\/p>\n

The polls are scheduled to close at 8 pm (Prague time). An exit poll is due to released shortly afterwards. A turnout of at least 50 percent is required to make the election valid. <\/p>\n

Communists in Power <\/p>\n

In Moldova, the parliament chooses the country’s president. Analysts predict President Vladimir Voronin, leader of Moldova’s Communist Party, will retain his office if, as expected, the Communist Party does well in today’s elections. <\/p>\n

The communists now control 71 of the 101 parliamentary seats. And the communists are far ahead in the opinion polls conducted shortly before today’s vote. <\/p>\n

Those polls suggest the communists now have support from nearly two-thirds of eligible voters. About 2.3 million people are registered. <\/p>\n

President Voronin came to power four years ago under promises to boost Moldova’s ties with Moscow. But now, Voronin says the Kremlin poses a threat to Moldova because of its support for Russian-speaking separatists in the Transdniester region. <\/p>\n

Trouble in the Transdniester <\/p>\n

Russia says Moldova is impeding a settlement to the conflict in Transdniester, which broke away from Moldova in 1990 and fought a brief war against Moldovan authorities after the collapse of the Soviet Union. <\/p>\n

Russia has been watching with alarm recently as Voronin forges greater ties with the leaders of Ukraine and Georgia. Both of those countries have resolved to strengthen their own ties with western Europe since reformists came to power through recent elections. <\/p>\n

Moscow has denounced Moldova’s recent expulsion of 20 Russians who said they wanted to be election observers. Voronin suggested they had been sent to Moldova as "spies." <\/p>\n

Russian media reports that another 100 Russians trying to observe today’s ballot have been denied entry into Moldova since 4 March. <\/p>\n

Still, Voronin denies he is at odds with Russia. He says his only dispute with the Kremlin is over Moscow’s refusal to remove about 1,200 Russian troops from Transdniester. <\/p>\n

Voronin last week said he was absolutely sure that his traditional support base would continue to support the Communist Party — which recently increased state workers’ wages and pensions. <\/p>\n

Although Moldova’s economy has been growing, many independent analysts link that growth to money being sent into the country by about a half a million Moldovans working abroad. <\/p>\n

The Opposition <\/p>\n

Political opposition parties in Moldova say the communists lack democratic credentials. They are accusing the Communist Party of planning to rig the poll. <\/p>\n

One opposition group is the centrist Democratic Moldova bloc. It seeks good relations with Moscow and the West. Another opposition group is the pro-Romania right-of-center Christian Democrats. <\/p>\n

Moldova’s political opposition is campaigning under yellow and orange colors — the symbols of reformist forces in neighboring Romania and Ukraine, respectively. <\/p>\n

The United States and the European Union have expressed concern about media restrictions during the election campaign. They, along with neighboring Romania, have called for a free and fair vote. <\/p>\n

(RFE\/RL’s Romania\/Moldova Service, Reuters)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>Low turnout is being reported today as voters in Moldova cast ballots in an election that will determine whether the Communist Party maintains its overwhelming majority of the parliament. In Moldova, the parliament is empowered to choose the country’s president. There was rain across much of Moldova today as balloting stations opened. Reports say few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"content_social_share":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Low turnout is being reported today as voters in Moldova cast ballots in an election that will determine whether the Communist Party maintains its overwhelming majority of the parliament. In Moldova, the parliament is empowered to choose the country’s president. <\/p>\n

There was rain across much of Moldova today as balloting stations opened. Reports say few people could be seen on the streets of the capital, Chisinau, early in the day. <\/p>\n

RFE\/RL correspondent Sergiu Praporscic reports a similar trend in the southern Moldovan town of Cahul: "According to the information given to me by the district election commission of Cahul, fewer than 10 percent of eligible voters had participated during the first two hours of voting." <\/p>\n

The polls are scheduled to close at 8 pm (Prague time). An exit poll is due to released shortly afterwards. A turnout of at least 50 percent is required to make the election valid. <\/p>\n

Communists in Power <\/p>\n

In Moldova, the parliament chooses the country’s president. Analysts predict President Vladimir Voronin, leader of Moldova’s Communist Party, will retain his office if, as expected, the Communist Party does well in today’s elections. <\/p>\n

The communists now control 71 of the 101 parliamentary seats. And the communists are far ahead in the opinion polls conducted shortly before today’s vote. <\/p>\n

Those polls suggest the communists now have support from nearly two-thirds of eligible voters. About 2.3 million people are registered. <\/p>\n

President Voronin came to power four years ago under promises to boost Moldova’s ties with Moscow. But now, Voronin says the Kremlin poses a threat to Moldova because of its support for Russian-speaking separatists in the Transdniester region. <\/p>\n

Trouble in the Transdniester <\/p>\n

Russia says Moldova is impeding a settlement to the conflict in Transdniester, which broke away from Moldova in 1990 and fought a brief war against Moldovan authorities after the collapse of the Soviet Union. <\/p>\n

Russia has been watching with alarm recently as Voronin forges greater ties with the leaders of Ukraine and Georgia. Both of those countries have resolved to strengthen their own ties with western Europe since reformists came to power through recent elections. <\/p>\n

Moscow has denounced Moldova’s recent expulsion of 20 Russians who said they wanted to be election observers. Voronin suggested they had been sent to Moldova as "spies." <\/p>\n

Russian media reports that another 100 Russians trying to observe today’s ballot have been denied entry into Moldova since 4 March. <\/p>\n

Still, Voronin denies he is at odds with Russia. He says his only dispute with the Kremlin is over Moscow’s refusal to remove about 1,200 Russian troops from Transdniester. <\/p>\n

Voronin last week said he was absolutely sure that his traditional support base would continue to support the Communist Party — which recently increased state workers’ wages and pensions. <\/p>\n

Although Moldova’s economy has been growing, many independent analysts link that growth to money being sent into the country by about a half a million Moldovans working abroad. <\/p>\n

The Opposition <\/p>\n

Political opposition parties in Moldova say the communists lack democratic credentials. They are accusing the Communist Party of planning to rig the poll. <\/p>\n

One opposition group is the centrist Democratic Moldova bloc. It seeks good relations with Moscow and the West. Another opposition group is the pro-Romania right-of-center Christian Democrats. <\/p>\n

Moldova’s political opposition is campaigning under yellow and orange colors — the symbols of reformist forces in neighboring Romania and Ukraine, respectively. <\/p>\n

The United States and the European Union have expressed concern about media restrictions during the election campaign. They, along with neighboring Romania, have called for a free and fair vote. <\/p>\n

(RFE\/RL’s Romania\/Moldova Service, Reuters)<\/p>\n

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