RFE
20 Oct 2019, 22:15 GMT+10
CHISINAU -- Voting has begun in local elections in Moldova, in its first electoral test since a pro-Western government took power four months ago following a bitter constitutional standoff.
At stake are nearly 900 mayoral posts and more than 11,000 local council seats.
Prime Minister Maia Sandu of the pro-Western Now Platform this week stood by her promise of 'free and fair elections,' while warning of the threat of 'provocations' and urging police to 'prevent and punish instances of abuse, should they occur.'
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. on a chilly, fog-shrouded morning in Chisinau on October 20, with many analysts predicting that the capital would vote in its first Socialist, pro-Moscow mayor.
In a replay of a previous, disputed contest, preelection polling suggested Socialist Ion Ceban was the front-runner for the Chisinau mayor's seat ahead of another national ruling group candidate, ACUM Bloc's Andrei Nastase.
The Central Election Commission said that nearly 400,000 of the country's 2.8 million registered voters had cast ballots by late morning local time.
Moldovan law requires at least 25 percent turnout in each constituency for the vote to be valid.
Polls are scheduled to close at 9 p.m. local time (1800 GMT/UTC).
Moldova has struggled to implement reforms urged by many in the West since the disappearance of more than $1 billion from state-owned banks five years ago shattered the already impoverished postcommunist state's economy and took down a government.
Inconclusive national elections in February bubbled into a major constitutional crisis in the summer and a showdown involving pro-Moscow President Igor Dodon, the Constitutional Court, and parliament deputies seeking to seat Sandu as prime minister.
The resulting situation was eventually endorsed by Dodon and Sandu, who has since led the country with support from a liberal-populist alliance in coalition with the Socialists.
Western critics have complained that political instability has hobbled efforts to buttress rule of law and democratic gains in Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries.
The European Commission, in its 'association implementation report' in September, acknowledged that some economic and banking-sector reforms had advanced in Moldova but warned that 'fundamental structural reforms of the judicial system, the fight against corruption, the prosecution of the 2014 banking fraud, and ensuring media plurality were lagging behind.'
The country's aging infrastructure is another problem.
Moldova's Central Election Commission said recently that less than 1 percent of the polling stations it inspected offered full access for disabled would-be voters.
With reporting by Interfax
Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Republished with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036
Get a daily dose of Tennessee Daily news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Tennessee Daily.
More InformationSAN FRANCISCO, California - Facebook's profits surged in the final three months of last year as people enduring the holidays ...
NEW YORK, New York - Covering for short-selling saw some shares jump sharply on American stock exchanges on Wednesday, but ...
WASHINGTON, DC - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said the global economy is projected to grow by 5.5 per ...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia were mixed on Wednesday.Japan's Nikkei 225 eked out a small gain despite concerns ...
New Delhi [India], January 27 (ANI/Big News Network): India will reclaim the status of the world's fastest-growing economy, and will ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were out of favour on Tuesday with the main indices drifting lower.At the ...
Washington DC [US], January 28 (ANI): The Joe Biden administration is currently reviewing the latest actions taken by the Donald ...
SAN FRANCISCO, California - Facebook's profits surged in the final three months of last year as people enduring the holidays ...
New Delhi [India], January 27 (ANI/Big News Network): India will reclaim the status of the world's fastest-growing economy, and will ...
On Friday, January 22, 2021, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) became international law for the 122 ...
The Russian vessel tapped to finish the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has begun work in Danish waters just ...
WASHINGTON, DC, January 26 (ANI) - The U.S. Senate has confirmed Janet Yellen to be the next Secretary of the ...