2023 Moldovan local elections

Last updated

Local elections were held in Moldova on 5 November 2023, with a runoff round for mayors held two weeks after the first round on 19 November 2023. [1] The main electoral contenders were:

Contents

The elections were organized by the incumbent Recean Cabinet. Overall, the PAS won the most votes in the elections.

Last local election

In 2019, the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM) won 17 out of 32 administrative districts, as per the electoral results obtained or registered at the last Moldovan local elections, which were held in 2019.

Following the same 2019 election, the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) only controlled one district, won as part of the ACUM political alliance with the Dignity and Truth Platform (PPDA), the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM), and the National Unity Party (PUN).

Background

In 2021, government began considering reform of administrative districts. [2] Former Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița (PAS) announced in 2023 that fundamental local government reform will not take place until the elections, but that "voluntary amalgamation" could be implemented, i.e. the union of several administrative-territorial units voluntarily. [3]

In February 2023, there were allegations of a coup in Moldova. [4]

On 19 June 2023, the Șor Party was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Moldova. [5] [6] Ilan Shor, who is a fugitive from justice, was banned, as were other Șor Party politicians from standing for election. In August 2023 a clone party, called “ȘANSĂ”, led by journalist Alexei Lungu was established. [7] “ȘANSĂ” was deregistered as a political party two days before the local elections in November amid claims of using illegal funds from Russia. [8] This resulted in a blanket ban on all 8,605 candidates nominated by one party. [9] Intelligence chief Alexandru Musteață said that Russia spent about a billion Moldovan lei (roughly US$55.5 million), routed through Ilan Shor, to overthrow the democratic government and destabilize Moldova, with ȘANSĂ using around 10% of this sum in the prior 2 months to bribe voters and illegally finance the political party associated with Shor. [10]

In an attempt to reduce the disinformation being put out by Russian media in Moldova, in October the Information and Security Service of Moldova blocked 22 Russian language websites for dissemination information from an aggressor nation (Russia), followed by the suspension of 6 TV stations linked to Shor and oligarch, Vladimir Plahotniuc who are both sanctioned individuals who have fled Moldova. [11]

Conduct

Electronic voting was expected to be tested in these local elections. [12]

Mayoral results

Electoral map depicting the results of the 2023 Moldovan local elections by each administrative unit of the country, i.e. raion. Alegeri locale moldova 2023.png
Electoral map depicting the results of the 2023 Moldovan local elections by each administrative unit of the country, i.e. raion.

After the first round of voting and the 273 runoff votes on 19 November: [13] [14]

Party [15] Seats% of mayors
PAS 29132.5
PSRM 14416.1
Independents11612.9
PDCM 485.3
Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova 343.8
Revival Party 273.0
DA Platform 202.2
Respect Moldova192.1
Our Party 171.9

Three settlements will need to go to the polls again in May 2024 due to administrative issues. [16]

External observers

The Central Election Commission of Moldova accredited 401 international observers for the election, none of the observers were Russian. [17]

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) was an observer organisation, with 264 observers from 36 countries, their opinion on the election was that: "The elections were calm and efficiently managed with candidates mostly able to campaign freely, but the broad powers of the government commission for exceptional situations were used to restrict freedom of speech and association as well as the right to stand, while interference from abroad and widespread allegations of vote buying throughout the campaign were of concern". [9]

The banning of candidates was contrary to commitments made by all OSCE states as well as other international standards for democratic elections; however, the elections were run well under challenging circumstances. Observers noted credible, persistent, and widespread allegations of the use of illegal funds for vote buying, linked to the leader of the dissolved Șor Party, and the use of foreign private sponsorship to fund local infrastructure projects in some districts, to gain votes. [9]

The 5 November local elections were peaceful and managed efficiently, reported OSCE, but noted that interference from abroad and restrictive measures imposed due to national security concerns had a negative impact on the process. [18]

Post election events

An appeal to the Chisinau Court of Appeal after the local elections by the Chance party saw in December 2023 a reversal of the ban that had seen 600 candidates removed from the November ballot. [19] This lifting of the ban would again be reversed on 4 October by the Exceptional Situations Committee which stated that any former member of the Șor party that are charged, indicted, or even under suspicion of committing criminal acts will be banned from participating in the elections. [20] The bans on 21 candidates were amended on 4 October to run for 3 years. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Social Democratic Party</span> Centre-left political party in Moldova

The European Social Democratic Party is a centre-left, populist social-democratic political party in Moldova. Established in 1997, the party holds pro-European views, and is an associate member of the Party of European Socialists (PES) and a full member of the Socialist International. According to its statute, the PSDE pleads that Moldova is an independent, sovereign, and democratic state, based on law, and integrated in the united family of European democracies. Reflecting former leader Marian Lupu's views, but also the strong influence of the Moldovan Orthodox Church, the party is more conservative on social issues, such as LGBT rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Șor Party</span> Moldovan political party

The ȘOR Party was a populist political party in Moldova. Known from its foundation in 1998 until October 2016 as the Socio-Political Movement "Equality", the party held Eurosceptic and Russophilic stances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zinaida Greceanîi</span> Prime Minister of Moldova from 2008 to 2009

Zinaida Greceanîi is a Moldovan politician. She was the President of the Moldovan Parliament between 8 June 2019 to 26 July 2021. Greceanîi was previously also the Prime Minister of Moldova from 31 March 2008 to 14 September 2009. She led the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM) from 2016 to 2020 and was previously a member of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM). She was Moldova's first female Prime Minister and was the second female Communist head of government in Europe, preceded only by Premier Milka Planinc of former Yugoslavia. She has been referred to by her colleagues in PSRM as the "Moldovan Margaret Thatcher".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova</span> Centre-left Moldovan political party

The Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova is a democratic socialist political party in Moldova. A populist party, it holds Eurosceptic and Russophilic views, both of which are reflected by its long-time former leader Igor Dodon. It is contrasted to like-minded centre-left European parties for its conservative views on social issues, reflecting the country's strong social conservatism and the influence of the Moldovan Orthodox Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igor Dodon</span> President of Moldova from 2016 to 2020

Igor Dodon is a Moldovan politician who previously served as the President of Moldova from 23 December 2016 to 24 December 2020. He currently serves as the leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova. He served as Minister of Economy and Trade in the governments of Vasile Tarlev and Zinaida Greceanîi from September 2006 to September 2009 and was a member of the Parliament of Moldova from 2009 to 2016. He lost his bid for re-election in 2020 to Maia Sandu, whom he had defeated four years earlier in the 2016 Moldovan presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pavel Filip</span> Prime Minister of Moldova from 2016 to 2019

Pavel Filip is a Moldovan politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maia Sandu</span> President of Moldova since 2020

Maia Sandu is a Moldovan politician who has been the President of Moldova since 24 December 2020. She is the founder and former leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) and former Prime Minister of Moldova from 8 June 2019 until 14 November 2019, when the government collapsed after a vote of no-confidence. Sandu was Minister of Education from 2012 to 2015 and member of the Parliament of Moldova from 2014 to 2015, and again in 2019. Sandu was elected President of Moldova in a landslide victory during the 2020 Moldovan presidential election. The first female president of Moldova, Sandu is a strong supporter of the accession of Moldova to the European Union, overseeing Moldova's granting of candidate status, and is considered 'pro-Western'. She has criticised and opposed Russia's invasion of Ukraine and supported subsequent steps to reduce Moldova's economic dependence on Russia, frequently expressing sympathy and support for Ukraine in the conflict. Sandu has made anti-corruption, economic reform and liberalisation a central part of her political platform, as well as closer integration with Europe. In February 2023, she accused Russia of seeking to stage a coup of the Moldovan government and has continued to seek to reduce Russia's influence over the country.

Ilan Shor is an Israel-born Moldovan oligarch and politician. In 2014, Shor "masterminded" a scam that saw US$1 billion disappear from Moldovan banks, resulting in a total loss equivalent to 12% of Moldova's GDP and the arrest of former Prime Minister Vlad Filat. In June 2017, he was sentenced to 7.5 years of prison in absentia for fraud and money laundering and on 14 April 2023 his sentence was increased to 15 years. All of Shor's Moldovan assets were also frozen. After spending time under house arrest he fled to Israel in 2019, where he currently lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Moldovan parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 24 February 2019 in order to elect the 101 members of the Parliament of Moldova. The Constitution holds that elections are to be held no later than four years and three months from the date of inauguration of the previous legislature. The elections were held under a parallel voting system, replacing the closed-list proportional system used in Moldova at all previous parliamentary elections since the independence. The electoral campaign period began in November 2018 and continued up until the election day. Candidates from four parties were elected to the Parliament, more specifically the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM), the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM), the ACUM electoral alliance composed of the DA and the PAS, and the Șor Party. The Party of Communists (PCRM) failed to obtain any seats for the first time since the independence of the Republic of Moldova. The results were subsequently confirmed and validated by Moldova's Constitutional Court on 9 March 2019. Furthermore, the results triggered a constitutional crisis in June.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Party of Action and Solidarity</span> Centre-right political party in Moldova

The Party of Action and Solidarity is a liberal political party in Moldova. The PAS was founded by Maia Sandu, the former Minister of Education and the incumbent president of Moldova. A pro-European party, it is an observer of the European People's Party (EPP) and the International Democrat Union (IDU).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrei Năstase</span> Moldovan lawyer and politician

Andrei Năstase is a Moldovan politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs from 8 June 2019 to 12 November 2019. He was also a member of Parliament of Moldova in 2019. Năstase was the leader of the Dignity and Truth Platform from 2015 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Moldovan parliamentary election</span>

Snap parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 11 July 2021. Following the resignation of Ion Chicu, the position of Prime Minister became vacant, with the Parliament being obligated to form a new government within three months. After the expiration of the constitutionally mandated period and two failed attempts to win parliamentary approval for the proposed cabinets, the Constitutional Court ruled on 15 April that the circumstances justifying a dissolution of the parliament were met. President Maia Sandu signed the decree dissolving the Parliament on 28 April and snap parliamentary elections were called on.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ion Ceban</span> Mayor of Chișinău since 2019

Ion Ceban is a Moldovan politician, and the current mayor of Chișinău, Moldova's capital. He is also the leader of the pro-European National Alternative Movement party. Ceban was Vice President of the Moldovan parliament in 2019 and has served as a member of parliament in three legislatures. He also served as a leader of his party's faction in the Chișinău Municipal Council from 2015 to 2019. He has held different positions at the governmental level, starting from the head of a department to Deputy Minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Moldovan presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Moldova on 1 November. The fourth direct elections since independence in 1991, voters had the possibility to either elect a new president or re-elect the incumbent Igor Dodon. Because no candidate received a majority of votes in the first round, a run-off between the top two candidates, Maia Sandu and Dodon, was held on 15 November. Maia Sandu won the second round with 57.72% of the vote, becoming the first female President of the country and the first winner from the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igor Grosu</span> President of the Moldovan Parliament since 2021

Igor Grosu is a Moldovan politician who is the President of the Parliament of Moldova since 29 July 2021. He has been a member of the Moldovan Parliament since March 2019. Grosu has been the leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) since 9 December 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natalia Gavrilița</span> Prime Minister of Moldova from 2021 to 2023

Natalia Gavrilița is a Moldovan economist and politician who served as prime minister of Moldova from 2021 until her resignation in February 2023 after failure to get her reform package enacted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Next Moldovan parliamentary election</span> Parliamentary election in Moldova

The next parliamentary elections in Moldova are to be held no later than 11 July 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marina Tauber</span> Moldovan politician

Marina Tauber is a Moldovan politician. Since 2019 she has been a Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moldovan protests (2022–2023)</span> Protests against the countrys government

On 18 September 2022, protests in Moldova began in the capital city of Chișinău, demanding the resignation of the country's pro-Western government, amid an energy crisis causing rising natural gas prices and inflation, caused in part by the war in Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chance. Duties. Realization.</span> Moldovan political party

Chance. Duties. Realization. is a political bloc in Moldova founded by Ilan Shor after the legal ban on the Șor Party.

References

  1. ↑ "The date of the local elections in 2023 was set". radiomoldova.md. 27 December 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  2. ↑ Botnaru, Vasile; Boțan, Igor (29 November 2021). "Igor Boțan: Reforma teritorial-administrativă este presantă, dar mereu amânată". Radio Europa Liberă (in Romanian). Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  3. ↑ "Natalia Gavrilița: Ar fi bine ca amalgamarea voluntară să aibă loc până la alegeri". Radio Chișinău (in Romanian). Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  4. ↑ Rankin, Jennifer (13 February 2023). "Moldova president accuses Russia of plotting to oust pro-EU government". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  5. ↑ "Partidul ȘOR, scos în afara legii de Curtea Constituțională de la Chișinău. Formațiunea oligarhului fugar ar fi pus la cale o lovitură de stat". Ziare.com (in Romanian). Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  6. ↑ "Ultima oră! Partidul Șor, declarat neconstituțional de Înalta Curte". UNIMEDIA (in Romanian). 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  7. ↑ ""ȘANSA" lui Șor s-a mutat în sediul lui Plahotniuc. Un nou partid clonă al oligarhilor fugari". 8 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "Moldova's 'Chance' Party Stumbles as Local Elections Approach; Customs Service Strengthens International Ties". 3 November 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 "Moldova's elections peaceful and efficient, but marred by sweeping restrictive measures amid national security concerns: international observers". 6 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "Moldova spy chief: Russia paid fugitive tycoon $ 55.5 mn to overthrow government". 4 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "Local elections in Moldova: new votes, old disinformation narratives". 17 November 2023.
  12. ↑ Hacina, Daniel (5 January 2023). "Electronic voting could be tested in Moldovan local elections". Moldova. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  13. ↑ "Moldova's pro-Western government hails elections despite mayoral losses in capital and key cities". Associated Press News . 6 November 2023.
  14. ↑ "PAS WINS MAYORAL ELECTIONS IN 291 POPULATED AREAS, WHILE PARTY OF SOCIALISTS – IN 144". 20 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "Alegeri locale din 2023" . Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "New local elections to be organized in three settlements from south Moldova". 22 November 2023.
  17. ↑ "Russian OSCE observers not accredited by Moldova: Russia is outraged". 1 November 2023.
  18. ↑ "INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION Republic of Moldova – Local Elections, 5 November 2023" (PDF). Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  19. ↑ "A Moldovan court annuls a ban on an alleged pro-Russia party that removed it from local elections". 12 December 2023.
  20. ↑ "Moldova Takes Further Steps To Ban Members Of Pro-Russian Party From Local Polls". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty . Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  21. ↑ "INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION Republic of Moldova – Local Elections, 5 November 2023" (PDF). Retrieved 6 December 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.