The Moldovan Election Commission has announced complete preliminary results of the local elections on June 5 that were seen as a crucial test of the liberal ruling coalition. The results indicate that the country remains nearly evenly divided between the three-party Alliance for European Integration (AEI) and the Communist Party.
Perhaps the closest contest and the most important — the race for mayor of the capital, Chisinau — will go to a second-round runoff within two weeks. Communist Party candidate Igor Dodon polled 48.07 percent, while Dorin Chirtoaca, of the Liberal Party, which is one of the three Western-leaning AEI parties, trailed closely with 46.51 percent.
Central Election Commission Chairman Iurie Ciocan announced the runoff at a press conference in the capital on June 7, saying that “neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the votes.”
Dodon immediately rejected the results, saying the vote-count had been rigged and promised to file a legal challenge to the results. He claims he won the election with 53 percent of the vote.
Full Article: Moldova’s Communists Remain Leading Party Following Local Elections – Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2011.