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1 1 (June 20, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbafi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ~ Research Service Moldova's Political Crisis Abates June 20, 2019 On June 14, 2019, a political crisis in Moldova ended when leaders of the formerly ruling Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM) agreed to dissolve the outgoing government in favor of a new coalition. The coalition includes a reform-oriented, Westem-leaning alliance, ACUM (or Now), and the socially conservative, Russian-leaning Party of Socialists, which placed first in Moldova's February 2019 elections. Moldova is one of three post-Soviet states that, together with Ukraine and Georgia, have sought greater integration with the West while coping with separatist territories occupied by Russian forces. Many Members of Congress have long supported Moldova's democratic trajectory and territorial integrity and have called on Russia to respect Moldova's sovereignty and withdraw its military forces. Growing Discontent Moldova's political environment was increasingly contentious before the recent crisis. The PDM gained power in 2016 after the prior government collapsed amid fallout from a bank fraud case involving the alleged loss of some $1 billion, equivalent to more than 12% of Moldova's gross domestic product. ACUM leaders and many observers contend that the PDM, in particular party leader and wealthy businessman Vlad Plahotniuc, effectively captured Moldova's state institutions for personal and party gain. In summer 2018, mass protests opposed a court decision to annul a snap mayoral election in Chisinau, Moldova's capital, which had been won by Andrei Nastase, who later became one of ACUM's two co-leaders. In November 2018, the European Union (EU) indefinitely suspended a £100 million macro-financial assistance program, which was conditional on respect for effective democratic mechanisms and implementation of reforms, and announced a reduction in other aid. Surprise Coalition Overcomes Resistance Elections to Moldova's 101-seat parliament were held on February 24 and validated by the Constitutional Court on March 9 (for results, see Table 1). After the election, Moldova lacked a functional government for almost three months, while leading parties held protracted coalition negotiations. Moldova's crisis arose on June 8, when the country's Constitutional Court, which observers considered was under the PDM's influence, issued a series of controversial rulings pronouncing the newly announced ACUM- Socialist government to be illegitimate (the court has since repealed its rulings). Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11137 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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