Pro-Europeans largely win legislative elections in Moldova

Pro-European Moldovan President Maya Sandu promised on Sunday, July 11th “The End of the Reign of Thieves” After his party won the early legislative elections, which enabled him to consolidate his power against his pro-Russian rivals.

Action and Solidarity (PAS, center right), including M^I Sandow was born and received nearly 48% of the vote and was ahead of the Bloc of Socialists and Communists (BESC) of former pro-Russian President Igor Dodon, with 31% after 94% of the votes were counted.

“I hope today is the end of a difficult era for Moldova, and I hope today is the end of the era of thieves in Moldova”m . said^I Sandu in a Facebook post.

This result should be enough to allow PAS to secure an absolute majority of seats in parliament, political expert Alexei Tolbur told AFP: “There is no suspense. (…) The situation is clear..

After his big win in the November 2020 presidential election, Dr.^I Sandhu, 49, needed control of Parliament to implement his programme, which focused on fighting corruption and rapprochement with the European Union.

“Moldova conversion”

“The challenges are huge and people need results” And the “You should feel the benefits of a clean parliament.” and “An honest and competent government”Maya Sandu added in her post, calling for “Use the power of today’s vote to change Moldova”. Even before the vote count ended, M . supporters were^I Sandhu was celebrating the victory at his campaign headquarters in Chisinau, according to an AFP correspondent.

Mr. Dowdon had assured him, after the polls were closed, to be confident of “Very good grade” of his training. “We will decide whether to appeal the election results.”, he added.

Both sides said they fear fraud, but according to Moldovan media, only minor violations of the electoral law have been reported. The turnout was just over 48%, a very slight drop compared to the previous legislative elections in 2019.

Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries, sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania, has been shaken since independence in 1991 by recurrent political crises and has to manage a frozen conflict in Transdniestria, a Moscow-backed breakaway region that is slipping from its control. Its population of 2.6 million is historically divided between those who look to the European Union and those who favor closer ties with Russia.

But Moldovans are unanimous in saying they are tired of corruption scandals, the most resonant of which in 2015 concerned the disappearance of $1 billion – the equivalent of 15% of GDP – from the coffers of three banks.

diaspora support

The expatriates, who represented more than a third of the electorate, again supported Mr.^I Sandow having already voted for her by an overwhelming majority in the presidential election. On Sunday, PAS won 76% of the votes after 30% of the votes were counted abroad.

Twenty parties and two blocs competed to share 101 seats in parliament. They must reach 5% and 7% respectively to be able to enter, and a party led by populist mayor Ilan Sur – who came in third with 6% of the vote – can claim it.

M^I Sandow, a former economist at the World Bank, is considered to many voters as the first political figure to come to power “Maintaining the reputation of honesty” is being “Change Code”According to Alexei Tolbor. however “Even with a parliamentary majority, it will not be easy سهل [pour elle] To carry out its mega projects for the profound change of the state.Analyst Victor Ciopano warns.

Since her inauguration in December, she has not been able to appoint her government because there is no agreement with the parliament controlled by Igor Dodon, which she finally dissolved in April.

Observers expected the vote to reduce Moscow’s influence. Maya Sandu has already angered the Kremlin by saying she wants to replace the Russian garrison stationed in Transdniestria with monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).