Radio România Internațional

Tag: Chishinau

  • Pro-European wins the race to become mayor of Chişinău

    Pro-European wins the race to become mayor of Chişinău

    Representative of the pro-European opposition in the Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet country with a predominantly Romanian speaking population) Andrei Năstase, on Sunday won the snap elections for the City Hall of Chişinău. Backed by several political parties, the leader of the Dignity and Truth Platform (PPDA, a right-of-centre non-parliamentary party of pro-European orientation) got over 52% of the ballots cast in the second round of the elections to defeat the Socialists’ candidate (the pro-Russian left wing), Ion Ceban.



    Andrei Năstase, 42, a lawyer by profession, stepped into the spotlight in 2015, when he was one of the leaders of large-scale anti corruption protests after the disappearance of one billion US dollars from the Moldovan banking system. Andrei Năstase is also known for his harsh criticism of the businessman Vladimir Plahotniuc, the leader of the ruling Democratic Party. In a press conference given jointly with his campaign staffers and representatives of the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) led by Maia Sandu and of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM) — two of the parties who backed him in the election campaign – Năstase hailed the importance of their support in securing his victory and underlined the need for further cooperation, particularly ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for the end of the year.



    Andrei Năstase also made public his intention to make a thorough assessment of the situation at the City Hall prior to setting his priorities. The early elections for the City Hall of Chişinău were held after the former mayor, Liberal Dorin Chirtoacă, resigned in February, following a corruption case which -he claimed – had been orchestrated by the power. Now, Dorin Chirtoacă has congratulated Andrei Năstase and urged him to set up a common bloc of the right wing forces in the run up to the parliamentary elections.



    In his turn, Socialist Ion Ceban has also congratulated Andrei Năstase on his win, but he termed the voting as political and geo-political. Actually, many pundits in Chişinău agree people voted based on geo-political criteria, just like every time they do in the Republic of Moldova. In Bucharest, the conservative and Liberal right wing has hailed Andrei Năstase’s victory, which they described as remarkable, saying that reason has won over anything else and adding that now the fight has started for the parliamentary elections due in autumn, when the real battle is waged. The new mayor will have a one-year term in office, until the local elections of 2019.

  • Invalidated Referendum in Chisinau

    Invalidated Referendum in Chisinau

    As predicted by many analysts, the voter turnout in the referendum aimed at dismissing the Liberal Dorin Chirtoaca, mayor general of Chisinau, in the Republic of Moldova, was too low to get the initiative validated. Only 17.5% of the voters went to the polls, as compared to a minimum one-third of eligible voters. The referendum was initiated by the pro-Russian Socialists Party headed by president Igor Dodon, and backed by two other left-wing parties, with most pro-European parties in the country boycotting the vote. Quite disappointed after the failure, the Socialists accuse the local authorities of tampering with the voter lists precisely in order to make sure that the required number of votes would not be reached.



    Chirtoaca, on the other hand, thanked the citizens of the Moldovan capital for not taking part in the vote. But, he cautioned, the problem is far from being solved. Although the dismissal will not go through, Chirtoaca is still suspended from office. But according to Radio Romania correspondents in Chisinau, he is determined to complete his third term in office, due to end in the summer of 2018.



    Chirtoacas political and judicial problems started on May 25, when he and 9 other City Hall officials were arrested by prosecutors with the National Anti-Corruption Centre, under accusations of influence peddling and overstepping his powers. In July he was suspended from office, and this month he was released from house arrest and placed under court supervision. The accusations against him, some commentators say, are rather insubstantial and aimed at political revenge.



    Born into a family of anti-Soviet militants and educated accordingly, Dorin Chirtoaca was first elected to office in 2007, at 29 years of age, to become the youngest mayor of a European capital city. A graduate from the Bucharest Law School, he has always been unequivocal about his Romanian identity, and as a senior vice-president of the Liberal Party he has been lobbying for Moldova joining Romania. In the elections of 2011 and 2015, he defeated the pro-Russians most prominent candidates, the incumbent president Igor Dodon and the former prime minister Zinaida Greceanyi.



    The elections for mayor of Chisinau, the city where one-third of Moldovas citizens live and which generates half of the countrys GDP, have always had a huge geo-political importance, analysts say. Both for the pro-Western parties, and for the pro-Russians, Chisinau is by far the most coveted electoral trophy, and the election of the mayor is also a choice between Europe and Russia. Just like his predecessors, Nicolae Costin and Serafim Urecheanu, Chirtoaca was elected each time by Chisinaus pro-Western majority, the same majority which on Sunday chose to boycott the referendum initiated by the Socialists.

  • Talks and protests in Chisinau

    Talks and protests in Chisinau

    Sworn in last week in a secretive ceremony, the new Government led by Pavel Filip has already been driven into a corner. Voted by a conjectural and heterogeneous Parliament majority made up of pro-European Liberals, up to former communists turned Democrats, the Cabinet is seen as representative of a deeply corrupt political class.



    Thousands of people took to the streets in Chisinau to protest against the Filip Cabinet, whom they accuse of having appropriated 1 billion dollars from the Moldovan banking system last year. Protesters called for the resignation of the governing coalition by Thursday afternoon and want the authorities to hold snap elections as late as April.



    They warned that unless the Government meets their demands, they will block off traffic across the country and move to civil unrest actions. At Government level, the series of protests is seen as an irresponsible attempt of disrupting the stability of Moldova, while the protest itself is a mix of apparently contrasting ideologies. Protest ringleaders have either pro-Russian affiliation, supporting the Socialist or the Populist parties, or pro-Western, representing the grassroots citizen’s movement Dignity and Truth, a cartel of NGOs backing Moldova’s European integration. While Socialist leader Igor Dodon and Populist leader Renato Usatii like to make public appearances alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, there are many voices inside Dignity and Truth who support the re-unification of Moldova and Romania.



    Western powers believe however that, in the event of early elections, the pro-Russian left will come to power, thus sidetracking Moldova’s European integration efforts. This is the very reason, political pundits argue, why most Western countries chose to express their support for the Filip Cabinet, one with a shady credibility. The Prime Minister has already announced his first visit to Bucharest on Tuesday, when he is due to meet his counterpart Dacian Ciolos.



    Talks are expected to focus, among others, on Romania’s loan to Moldova. Last year Romania offered to give a 150-million-euro loan to Moldova offset to balance the budget deficit. Against the growing political instability however Klaus Iohannis put a freeze on the loan, doubtful of the European aspirations of the political class in Moldova. On Sunday, however, Romania’s President remained a trusted partner of Moldova, and that the common history and language contribute to strengthening the identity and solidarity of the two countries. In turn, Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos said Romania supports Moldova and the civic and European aspirations of its citizens.

  • Tension running high in Chisinau

    Tension running high in Chisinau

    If no Government had been approved in Moldova by January 29, president Nicolae Timofti would have been forced to call early elections, a scenario in all likelihood favouring the pro-Moscow Socialist and Populist left. The very prospect of snap elections determined 57 of the total of 101 MPs to give their vote of confidence for the program and structure of the Filip Cabinet, in what has been described an almost secret Parliament session.



    Most of the 57 MPs belong to the Democratic Party, the party of the new Prime Minister, and to the Liberal Party. Adding to them is a group of former communist MPs and Liberal-Democrats, now in opposition. Unhappy with the decision to call off the snap elections, the several-thousand-strong crowd outside Parliament took the building by storm, breaking through police barricades.



    13 people were wounded in the ensuing clashes between the furious protesters and the riot police, including eight policemen and, the former interim president of the Republic, Mihai Ghimpu. Analyst Iulian Chifu, head of the Centre for Conflict Prevention and former advisor to president Traian Basescu, told Radio Romania that just as the crowd was mounting its assault on the Parliament building, populist leader Renato Usatyi and Socialist leader Igor Dodon were landing on the airport in Chisinau from their trip to Moscow, where they received proper “instructions”.



    At the swearing-in ceremony, president Nicolae Timofti said the people’s support was key to the success of Government policies. Representatives of international bodies in Chisinau have urged the authorities to keep calm and prevent the situation from escalating. In turn, Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos underlined the importance of a stable Government in Chisinau, that should carry out the necessary economic and social reforms.



    The EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, has encouraged all parties with an interest in the Republic of Moldova to engage in a dialogue so as to decide on the future course of action. According to analyst Iulian Chifu, only a sweeping reform of state institutions would persuade the IMF and neighbouring Romania to continue to give out the loans that Moldova so dearly needs. Unless Moldova embarks on this task, Iulian Chifu argues, Moldova faces financial bankruptcy and eventually, political gridlock.


    Tension running high in Chisinau




    The political crisis in Chisinau is far from being over, despite the swearing in of a new Cabinet led by Pavel Filip on Wednesday.



    If no Government had been approved in Moldova by January 29, president Nicolae Timofti would have been forced to call early elections, a scenario in all likelihood favouring the pro-Moscow Socialist and Populist left. The very prospect of snap elections determined 57 of the total of 101 MPs to give their vote of confidence for the program and structure of the Filip Cabinet, in what has been described an almost secret Parliament session.



    Most of the 57 MPs belong to the Democratic Party, the party of the new Prime Minister, and to the Liberal Party. Adding to them is a group of former communist MPs and Liberal-Democrats, now in opposition. Unhappy with the decision to call off the snap elections, the several-thousand-strong crowd outside Parliament took the building by storm, breaking through police barricades.



    13 people were wounded in the ensuing clashes between the furious protesters and the riot police, including eight policemen and, the former interim president of the Republic, Mihai Ghimpu. Analyst Iulian Chifu, head of the Centre for Conflict Prevention and former advisor to president Traian Basescu, told Radio Romania that just as the crowd was mounting its assault on the Parliament building, populist leader Renato Usatyi and Socialist leader Igor Dodon were landing on the airport in Chisinau from their trip to Moscow, where they received proper “instructions”.



    At the swearing-in ceremony, president Nicolae Timofti said the people’s support was key to the success of Government policies. Representatives of international bodies in Chisinau have urged the authorities to keep calm and prevent the situation from escalating. In turn, Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos underlined the importance of a stable Government in Chisinau, that should carry out the necessary economic and social reforms.



    The EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, has encouraged all parties with an interest in the Republic of Moldova to engage in a dialogue so as to decide on the future course of action. According to analyst Iulian Chifu, only a sweeping reform of state institutions would persuade the IMF and neighbouring Romania to continue to give out the loans that Moldova so dearly needs. Unless Moldova embarks on this task, Iulian Chifu argues, Moldova faces financial bankruptcy and eventually, political gridlock.