Moldova: Moldova Emerges as Battleground in EU-Russia Struggle | Wall Street Journal

A Cold War-style spy saga involving guns, gangsters and the Russian security services is roiling this tiny ex-Soviet state before its election, which has become crucial battleground in the tug of war between Europe and Moscow. Moldova’s election commission on Thursday barred Renato Usatii, a populist pro-Russian candidate, from running in Sunday’s parliamentary elections after a leaked audio recording appeared to show him discussing his close connections to the FSB, the Russian security service and successor to the KGB. Government officials and political leaders here have long alleged that Mr. Usatii is a front for Russian secret services and criminal gangs—part of a multipronged Russian plan to get control over the country, which neighbors Ukraine. The audio recording surfaced as Moldovan police unearthed a cache of weapons and military supplies, including grenade launchers and rifles, in raids on members of a pro-Russian antifascist movement. In Moscow, there was no official comment on the news.

Moldova: Pro-European judge Timofti elected president, ending 3 years of political deadlock | The Washington Post

Moldova’s Parliament elected a judge with a European outlook as president Friday, ending nearly three years of political deadlock in the former Soviet republic. Lawmakers approved the election of Nicolae Timofti, 65, who is chairman of the Superior Council of Magistrates. The opposition Communists, who disapprove of the government’s pro-European policies, boycotted the vote. Thousands of their supporters later protested the election in the capital’s streets. But Communist leader and former President Vladimir Voronin later said his party has decided to suspend its protests, even though it opposes Timofti’s election. Moldova had been without a president since 2009 because the country’s largest party, which has 58 seats in the 101-seat legislature, could not muster the 61 votes required.

Moldova: Shevchuk wins Transdnestr presidency – election commission source | RIA Novosti

The ex-speaker of the Transdnestr parliament, Yevgeny Shevchuk, will become the breakaway republic’s second president after garnering 73.88 percent of the vote in Sunday’s runoff election, a source in Transdnestr’s Central Election Commission told RIA Novosti, citing preliminary results.

His opponent, Supreme Council Chairman Anatoly Kaminsky, received 19.67 percent of the vote. Another 4.45 percent of those casting ballots voted against both candidates.The winner of the election will serve as Transdnestr’s president for the next five years.

The Central Election Commission says it will announce official, preliminary results of the vote count at 10:00 a.m. local time on Monday. The final results will be available in three days, the commission said.

Moldova: Igor Dodon Refuses To Concede Defeat In Chisinau Moldova Mayoral Race | Radio Free Europe

The Communist Party contender for the key job of mayor of the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, says he will not recognize his defeat to a pro-Western candidate in the June 19 runoff election and will fight against it using “all legal means,” RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service reports.

According to preliminary results the liberal incumbent, Dorin Chirtoaca, won the race with 50.6 percent of the vote, against 49.4 percent for his Communist Party challenger Igor Dodon. But Dodon today said the difference was so narrow and the “frauds” so numerous that he and his party had no choice but to contest the result.

Moldova: Communist MPs allege election fraud | Morning Star

Communist MPs and their supporters rallied outside parliament in Chisinau on Thursday over alleged irregularities in elections which gave a boost to the country’s ruling pro-European Union coalition.

Protesters chanted: “Down with the Central Election Commission” and “Down with the Alliance,” referring to the governing three-party Alliance for European Integration (AEI).

The election commission says that the AEI won about 57 per cent of the vote in local councils last Sunday, while the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) took nearly a third of the vote – more than any other single party.

 

Moldova: Local elections largely met international standards, but remaining legal and regulatory issues need to be considered, observers say | ODIHR

Moldova’s local elections largely met OSCE and Council of Europe election-related commitments, in conditions conducive to a competitive campaign and offering voters a genuine choice, international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities concluded in a statement issued today.

However, the observers noted that remaining legal, administrative and regulatory issues need to be further considered in order to ensure continued forward progress.