Resounding victory for pro-European party in Moldova

Moldovan President Maya Sandu's PAS party has won a resounding victory in Sunday's (11 July) parliamentary elections on a platform of fighting corruption and carrying out reforms.

After the counting of 99.63% of ballots, only three political forces will be represented in the new chamber, the data showed. PAS had 52.60% of the vote, while its main rival, Dodon's Socialists and Communists bloc, had 27.32%.

The party of Ilan Shor, a businessman convicted of fraud and money-laundering in connection with a $1 billion bank scandal, received 5.77% of the vote. Shor denies wrongdoing.

Moldova has a population of 3.5 million people and is one of the poorest countries in Europe.

Sandu, who favours closer ties with the European Union, defeated Dodon last year but was forced to share power with the parliament elected in 2019 and the government run by lawmakers aligned with Dodon.

In April, Sandu dissolved parliament, in which PAS had 15 lawmakers while Dodon's Socialists had 37. Together with allies he controlled a majority of 54 deputies.

"I hope that Moldova will end today a difficult era, the era of the rule of thieves in Moldova. Our citizens must feel and experience the benefits of a clean parliament and government that cares about people's problems," Sandu said on Facebook.

She said that after the final count of votes she intended to form a new government as soon as possible.

The distribution of seats in parliament is not yet clear, as the votes cast for the parties that did not win enough votes to enter parliament will be distributed among the winners.

 

source: commonspace.eu with Reuters (London) and agencies
photo: Moldavan flag and vote (archive)

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have recently agreed the text of a historic peace agreement that ends years of animosity and warfare. The agreement is expected to be signed soon. LINKS Europe, which has a long history of engagement with the process of peace in the region, recently launched a new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue format in the framework of the European Union's EU4Peace initiative. In the last two weeks dozens of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, including academics, students, civil society activists, journalists and other professionals, many of them young, were involved. The work is organised in five thematic groups focusing on peace and security, connectivity, environment, governance and gender and equality and in phase 2 of the project, which has just ended, around fifty participants took part in in-person and online meetings, and more than twenty others were involved indirectly. The Chairpersons of the five thematic groups met in Vilnius, 3-6 July to launch the third phase of the program. The five thematic groups are now working on separate reports, which are expected to be finished in November and presented to the two governments and other stakeholders. The reports will outline a vision, up to 2040.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have recently agreed the text of a historic peace agreement that ends years of animosity and warfare. The agreement is expected to be signed soon. LINKS Europe, which has a long history of engagement with the process of peace in the region, recently launched a new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue format in the framework of the European Union's EU4Peace initiative. In the last two weeks dozens of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, including academics, students, civil society activists, journalists and other professionals, many of them young, were involved. The work is organised in five thematic groups focusing on peace and security, connectivity, environment, governance and gender and equality and in phase 2 of the project, which has just ended, around fifty participants took part in in-person and online meetings, and more than twenty others were involved indirectly. The Chairpersons of the five thematic groups met in Vilnius, 3-6 July to launch the third phase of the program. The five thematic groups are now working on separate reports, which are expected to be finished in November and presented to the two governments and other stakeholders. The reports will outline a vision, up to 2040.