The Republic of Moldova, Romania’s neighbor whose population is mostly Romanian ethnics, is undergoing elections once again, after the April 5 ballots, which reconfirmed Communists to the helm and stirred violent street riots and Parliament was dissolved. Voting started at 7 a.m., local time, and will close at 9 p.m. The stakes of the elections is to reconfirm or oust the Communists Party from the Parliament. The Parliament started the 17th legislature with four political parties after the April 5 elections.
The Communists Party won 49.48 percent of ballots or 60 seats, the Liberal Party 13.13 percent, the Liberal Democrat Party got 12.43 percent and the Alliance Our Moldova 9.77 percent. Five independent candidates and 12 political parties ran in the April 5 elections. Had the Communists Party obtained 61 seats in Parliament it could have imposed the wanted person to the presidential seat. The incumbent president Vladimir Voronin was elected in 2001 but cannot run for a new mandate. The Parliament was dissolved after being unable to pick a successor for Voronin.
Valid ballots
By 3 p.m. more than 33 percent of the voters had voted, which makes the election valid, by the Moldovan law. The Communists changed the law, lowering the minimum required number of voters from 50 percent , to 30 percent of all voters in the country. More than 40 percent of the capital residents had voted as well.
Partial results will be presented at 9 p.m. when ballots close.
Irregularities
Several observers pointed to a row of irregularities, like inadequate behavior of officials monitoring the vote, alcohol offered to voters in exchange of votes, dead people put on the voting lists and others. Some voting centers countrywide were closed after irregularities were unearthed.
About 2.6 million voters are
