Brussels, 31/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - The EU has hailed the peaceful and orderly early general elections in Moldova on 29 July, which were won by the Communist Party - in power since 2001 - with 45.1% of the votes and 48 of the 101 seats. The four pro-EU opposition parties share the remaining 53 seats and may decide to form a coalition government. The four parties were in talks over the issue on Friday 31 July. The head of the biggest opposition party, the Liberal Democrats, Vlad Filat, said that it was too early to say that a coalition had been formed but leading politicians have made statements saying that a coalition of the four opposition parties may be set up. The four parties united would not achieve the requisite number of seats (61) needed to elect the new president of Moldova and it is the inability of the Moldovan parliament to elect a new president that led to the Communist president, Vladimir Voronin, dissolving parliament and calling early elections on 29 July.
EU External Relations Commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, commented in a statement published on 30 July 2009: “The immediate priority is to form a government, and I urge all the political parties to engage in open and constructive dialogue in order to put in place, as soon as possible, a government able to tackle the economic crisis and address the many issues that will shape the future of the country.” She urged the Moldovan government “to deal with the shortcomings identified in the OSCE observation mission's preliminary recommendations.” On Thursday, the OSCE said it was “encouraged” by the way the general elections were run but called for further democratic reforms. The elections met a number of international criteria, but “the electoral process underscored the need for continued democratic reforms” to restore people's confidence, commented the OSCE.
The Swedish Presidency of the EU also welcomed the fact that the preliminary assessment of the situation by the OSCE election observers found that the elections had respected many international standards, allowing political parties to take part and express a variety of viewpoints. It urged “the Moldovan authorities to investigate any alleged irregularities in the election process and Moldovan political parties to create a constructive and trustful political climate.”
As far as the European Parliament is concerned, which had sent seven MEPs to Moldova during the elections, “the campaign was negatively affected by subtle intimidation and media bias. “Many of the international standards and requirements have been met. That is a positive sign, however it reiterates the need to continue the democratic process which is still far from complete and in particular to restore trust between the major political forces,” explained the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek. “We can witness some improvement, but the campaign environment, compared to April, has worsened. This is most regrettable. There remain a number of issues of concern,” explained the head of the EP election observer delegation, Marian-Jean Marinescu (EPP, Romania), adding: “In my perception, the crucial question we have to address is not technical but political and without a structural democratic change, Moldova will not be able to meet its challenges. The way forward is not less but more democracy. On this road the EU will be on the side of Moldova.” (H.B./A.B./transl.fl)