CHISINAU, September 29. /TASS/. Moldova’s Central Election Commission has published the results of the parliamentary elections after 100% of ballots have been counted, and indications are that President Maia Sandu’s Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) is likely to retain its parliamentary majority.
The polls were held on September 28, against the backdrop of numerous violations, persecution of the opposition and obstacles to voting.
TASS has gathered key information about the outcome of the vote.
Election results
- PAS received 50.20% of the vote. The main opposition force, the Patriotic Electoral Bloc got 24.17%; the pro-European Alternative bloc - 7.96%, Our Party - 6.20%. The pro-European Democracy at Home party received 5.62%.
- The results grant PAS 55 seats in the 101-seat parliament. The Patriotic Electoral Bloc will get 26 seats, the Alternative bloc - 8, Our Party - 6, Democracy at Home - 6.
- The ruling party will receive some seats following the re-distribution of votes from parties that did not make it into the parliament.
- However, the final results are yet to be announced by the CEC.
- According to the CEC, the opposition won the election on the territory of Moldova, where the PAS received 44.13%, and the parliamentary opposition parties combined amassed 49.54%. The Patriotic Electoral Bloc got 28.25%, the Alternative bloc - 9.22%, Our Party - 6.35%, Democracy at Home - 5.72%.
Violations
- The Moldovan police registered 236 violations during the voting day, CEC Chairwoman Angelica Karaman has told reporters.
- The Patriotic Electoral Bloc said it had registered hundreds of violations during the voting process, and will submit its findings to the CEC, head of the Future of Moldova party Vasile Tarlev said.
Opposition’s statements
- Ilan Shor, the leader of the opposition Victory bloc, which was barred from participating, said he does not recognize the outcome of the vote.
- He also accused the government of Moldova of widespread electoral fraud.
- Besides, Shor said he would contest the results.
- The Heart of Moldova party chair, former Gagauzia Governor Irina Vlah said the PAS had falsified the election results, turning them into a "dirty farce."
- Hundreds gathered in central Chisinau for an opposition protest.
- The protest ended after the Patriotic Electoral Bloc’s leaders declared that they do not recognize the outcome and will wait for the decision of the Constitutional Court, which still must approve the final results.
About the vote
- Before the elections, the government of Moldova increased the number of polling stations abroad from 234 to 301, mostly in Western countries.
- They accounted for nearly one quarter of all ballots cast - around 884,000, while around 2.7 million ballots were cast inside the country.
- In Russia, where hundreds of thousands of Moldovan citizens reside, only two polling stations were opened - at the consulate and the Moldovan Embassy in Moscow.
- A total of 4,109 people cast their ballot there.
- Also, the number of polling stations for Russian-speaking Moldovans in Transnistria was cut by one third.
- Throughout the voting day, access to them was blocked by the police, at first as a result of identity checks on roads, and then as a result of anonymous bomb threats.
- The Moldovan opposition accused the government of deliberately reducing the number of polling stations on territories where they are not supported, and increasing them in other areas.
- The Patriotic Bloc includes the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova, led by former President Igor Dodon, the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova, led by former leader Vladimir Voronin, and the Future of Moldova party of former Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev. The Alternative Bloc consists of the National Alternative Movement, led by Chisinau Mayor Ion Ceban, the Development and Consolidation Party of Moldova, led by former Prime Minister Ion Chicu, and the Civic Congress party, led by Mark Tkaciuk.