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1 1 (April 18, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govzjt0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informi ig the legislative debate since 1914 Updated April 18, 2019 Moldova: An Overview Moldova is one of three post-Soviet states, together with Ukraine and Georgia, that have sought greater integration with the West while coping with separatist territories occupied by Russian forces. Moldova is located near the Black Sea between Ukraine and Romania. Politics Moldova held parliamentary elections on February 24, 2019. Elections to the 101-seat legislature did not produce a clear victor, and coalition negotiations continue. If no agreement is reached, Moldova's president may dissolve parliament in mid-June 2019 and hold new elections. Four parties and electoral blocs entered parliament (see Table 1). President Igor Dodon's Socialist Party, an economically left, socially conservative, pro-Russian party, came in first. The incumbent Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM) came in second; the PDM claims a center-left, pro- Western mantle, but critics argue that it primarily represents the interests of its chairman, wealthy businessman Vladimir Plahotniuc. A Western-leaning reform alliance, ACUM (or Now), came in third. The Shor Party, led by a regional mayor who is appealing a seven-year prison sentence for bank fraud, placed fourth. Table I. February 2019 Parliamentary Elections Party Single Mandate Total Party List (%) Seats Seats Socialists 31% 17 35 PDM 24% 17 30 ACUM 27% 12 26 Shor Party 8% 2 7 Independents - 3 3 International observers said the elections were competitive but tainted by allegations of pressure on public employees, strong indications of vote buying, and the misuse of state resources. The U.S. Department of State said it shared observers' concerns about election improprieties. Before the 2019 elections, Moldova's political environment was already contentious. In summer 2018, mass protests were held against a court decision to annul the results of a snap mayoral election in Chisinau, Moldova's capital, which had been won by Andrei Nistase, who later became one of ACUM's two co-leaders. The court's decision was criticized by outside observers, including the European Union and the United States. Moldova has had a directly elected presidency since 2016. In November 2016, Igor Dodon was elected with 52% of the vote in a second round. Maia Sandu, who later became a co-leader of ACUM, came in second place with 48% of the vote. President Dodon has sought to expand the relatively limited formal powers of the presidency. Figure I. Moldova at a Glance Population: 3.55 million (2017 est.) Comparative Area: slightly larger than Maryland Ethnic Composition: 75%Moldovan, 7% Romanian, 7% Ukrainian, 5% Gagauz, 4% Russian, 2% Bulgarian (2014 est.) Main Languages: Moldovan/Romanian: 79%, Russian: 15% (2014 est.) Religion: 92% Orthodox Christian, 6% other Christian GDP/GDP per capita: $11.4 billion/$3,218 (2018 est.) Top Exports: electrical machinery, apparel, oil seeds, cereals, beverages (2018) Leadership: Prime Minister Pavel Filip, President Igor Dodon, Foreign Minister Tudor Ulianovschi, Defense Minister Eugen Sturza, Parliamentary Chairman Andrian Candu. (Note:negotiations on government formation are ongoing) Source: Moldova National Bureau of Statistics and IMF (does not include Transnistria). Figure created by CRS. Although the PDM-led Cabinet and President Dodon have been divided on several issues, they cooperated before elections to revise Moldova's election code. The new law replaced the pure party-list system with a mixed system that includes single-member districts. Many observers predicted this change would favor the ruling PDM and the Socialist Party at the expense of ACUM. In the February 2019 elections, the PDM and the Socialist Party each won 17 single-member seats, and ACUM won 12, despite placing second in the party-list vote. The PDM gained power in 2016 after the previous government collapsed amid fallout from a massive bank fraud case involving the alleged loss of some $1 billion, equivalent to more than 12% of Moldova's gross domestic product (GDP). Pro-Western forces had won a contentious election in 2009, but infighting, corruption, and popular protest gradually weakened their authority. From 2013 to 2016, four pro-Western ruling coalitions collapsed in succession. From 2001 to 2009, Moldova was run by a reformed Communist Party. Transnistrian Conflct Since becoming independent in 1991, Moldova has coped with the secession of Transnistria, a Russian-backed territory with more than 10% of the country's population and a substantial but faltering industrial base. Despite its separatist status, Transnistria has economic relations with the European Union (EU), the destination for more than half of its exports. A political settlement to the Transnistrian conflict remains distant. The Moldovan government supports the establishment of a special status for Transnistria within hffps://crsreports.con, -- -

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