May 7, 2009

Sponsor: NED

Mourning or Morning in Moldova? The April Election and its Aftermath

A Panel Discussion brought to you by the Eurasia Foundation and the Moldova Foundation

On April 5th, Moldova held parliamentary elections. While the government claims that the ruling Communist Party won 49 percent of the vote and OSCE/ODIHR concluded that the voting process met “many international commitments,” the political opposition, civil society and international observers have noted credible cases of fraud and the misuse of administrative resources, biased news by state-run media, and problems with voter lists.

In this polarizing situation, thousands of mostly young people took to the streets to protest the results. Following violence and vandalism of the parliament and presidential buildings, an ensuing crackdown led to hundreds of young people being arrested, scores beaten and some killed. At present, the political opposition is refusing to participate in electing a new president, scheduled for May 5th, thus forcing new elections.

This discussion focused on the April election process, civil society’s efforts to foster free and fair elections, the current human rights situation, and on-going political deadlock in one of Europe’s most isolated countries.

Panelists

Dorin Chirtoaca
Mayor of Chisinau and Vice President of the Liberal Party of Moldova

Andrei Brighidin
Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections -- Coalition 2009 and Program Manager, Eurasia Foundation

Mihaela Copot
Human Rights Activist and Executive Director, HomoDiversus Pro

Moderator

Janusz Bugajski
Director of the New European Democracies, CSIS