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2023 Moldovan local elections

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Local elections were held in Moldova on 5 November 2023, with a runoff round for mayors held two weeks after the first round on 19 November 2023.[1] The main electoral contenders were:

The elections were organized by the incumbent Recean Cabinet. Overall, the PAS won the most votes in the elections.

Last local election

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Main article: 2019 Moldovan local elections

In 2019, the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM) won 17 out of 32 administrative districts, as per the electoral results of the previous Moldovan local elections, which were held in 2019.

Following that 2019 election, the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) controlled a single district, won as part of the ACUM political alliance with the Dignity and Truth Platform (PPDA), the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM), and the National Unity Party (PUN).

Background

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In 2021, government began considering reform of administrative districts.[2] Former Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița (PAS) announced in 2023 that fundamental local government reform would not take place until the elections, but that "voluntary amalgamation" could be implemented, i.e. the voluntary union of several administrative-territorial units.[3]

In February 2023, there were allegations of a coup in Moldova.[4]

On 19 June 2023, the Șor Party was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Moldova.[5][6] Ilan Shor was banned, as were other Șor Party politicians, from standing for election. In August 2023 a new party called “ȘANSĂ”, led by journalist Alexei Lungu, was established.[7] “ȘANSĂ” was de-registered as a political party two days before the local elections in November amid claims of accepting illegal funds from Russia.[8] This resulted in a blanket ban on all 8,605 candidates nominated by the party.[9] Intelligence chief Alexandru Musteață claimed that Russia spent about a billion Moldovan lei (roughly US$55.5 million), routed through Ilan Shor, to overthrow the democratic government and destabilize Moldova, with ȘANSĂ allegedly using around 10% of this sum in the prior two months to bribe voters and illegally finance the political party associated with Shor.[10]

In October, the Information and Security Service of Moldova blocked 22 Russian language websites for dissemination information from an aggressor nation (Russia), followed by the suspension of six TV stations linked to Ilan Shor and Vladimir Plahotniuc.[11]

Mayoral results

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Electoral map depicting the results of the 2023 Moldovan local elections by each administrative unit of the country, i.e. raion.

After the first round of voting and the 273 runoff votes on 19 November:[12][13]

  • 898 mayoral positions were contested
  • In Chișinău, incumbent mayor Ion Ceban was re-elected
  • Bălți went to Alexandr Petkov
Party [14] Seats % of mayors
PAS 291 32.5
PSRM 144 16.1
Independents 116 12.9
PDCM 48 5.3
Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova 34 3.8
Revival Party 27 3.0
DA Platform 20 2.2
Respect Moldova 19 2.1
Our Party 17 1.9

On 22 November 2023, the Central Election Commission ruled three settlements would hold new elections in May 2024.[15]

Chișinău Mayor

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Main article: Mayor of Chișinău
CandidatePartyVotes%
Ion Ceban (incumbent)National Alternative Movement132,80350.62
Lilian CarpParty of Action and Solidarity74,07428.23
Adrian AlbuParty of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova11,8764.53
Victor ChirondaDignity and Truth Platform10,0113.82
Vasile BoleaRevival Party6,3342.41
Vasile CostiucDemocracy at Home Party5,5182.10
Diana CaramanParty of Communists of the Republic of Moldova4,4561.70
Ruslan CodreanuRuslan Codreanu Electoral Bloc3,6851.40
OthersOther parties and independents13,5965.18
Total262,353100.00
Source: Central Electoral Commission[16]

Chișinău City Council

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PartyVotes%Seats
National Alternative Movement85,55333.2520
Party of Action and Solidarity84,61532.8820
Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova24,8169.646
Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova11,4654.462
Revival Party6,7932.641
Dignity and Truth Platform6,5832.561
Our Party4,4291.721
Democracy at Home Party3,5831.390
Ruslan Codreanu Electoral Bloc3,4541.340
Party of Development and Consolidation of Moldova3,1221.210
Coalition for Unity and Well-being2,4150.940
Change1,9610.760
Home Building Europe Party "PACE"1,8650.720
Respect Moldova1,7580.680
For People, Nature and Animals1,6200.630
Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova1,5390.600
European Social Democratic Party1,5050.580
Liberal Party7830.300
Common Action Party – Civil Congress6930.270
National Moldavian Party6230.240
People's Will6170.240
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe5800.230
Movement of Professionals "Speranța-Надежда"5010.190
Alternative and Salvation Force of Moldova4720.180
Patriots of Moldova4410.170
National Liberal Party3650.140
Ecologist Green Party3340.130
League of Cities and Communes2760.110
NOI2180.080
Independents4,3281.680
Total257,307100.0051
Source: Central Electoral Commission[17]

External observers

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The Central Election Commission of Moldova accredited 401 international observers for the election.[18] The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) was an observer organization, with 264 observers from 36 countries. Their opinion on the election was that: "The elections were calm and efficiently managed with candidates mostly able to campaign freely, but the broad powers of the government commission for exceptional situations were used to restrict freedom of speech and association as well as the right to stand, while interference from abroad and widespread allegations of vote buying throughout the campaign were of concern".[9]

The 5 November local elections were peaceful and managed efficiently, reported OSCE, but noted that interference from abroad and restrictive measures imposed due to national security concerns had a negative impact on the process.[19] Observers noted credible, persistent, and widespread allegations of the use of illegal funds for vote buying, linked to the leader of the dissolved Șor Party, and the use of foreign private sponsorship to fund local infrastructure projects in some districts, to gain votes.[9]

Post-election events

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An appeal to the Chișinău Court of Appeal after the local elections by the Chance party in December 2023 led to a reversal of the ban of 600 candidates removed from the November ballot.[20] This lifting of the ban was reversed on 4 October 2023 by the Exceptional Situations Committee, which stated that any former member of the Șor party who had been charged, indicted, or under suspicion of committing criminal acts would be banned from participating in the elections.[21] The bans on 21 candidates were amended on 4 October 2023 to a prohibition on running for three years.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "The date of the local elections in 2023 was set". radiomoldova.md. 27 December 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  2. ^ Botnaru, Vasile; Boțan, Igor (29 November 2021). "Igor Boțan: Reforma teritorial-administrativă este presantă, dar mereu amânată". Radio Europa Liberă (in Romanian). Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Natalia Gavrilița: Ar fi bine ca amalgamarea voluntară să aibă loc până la alegeri". Radio Chișinău (in Romanian). Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  4. ^ Rankin, Jennifer (13 February 2023). "Moldova president accuses Russia of plotting to oust pro-EU government". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Partidul ȘOR, scos în afara legii de Curtea Constituțională de la Chișinău. Formațiunea oligarhului fugar ar fi pus la cale o lovitură de stat". Ziare.com (in Romanian). Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Ultima oră! Partidul Șor, declarat neconstituțional de Înalta Curte". UNIMEDIA (in Romanian). 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  7. ^ ""ȘANSA" lui Șor s-a mutat în sediul lui Plahotniuc. Un nou partid clonă al oligarhilor fugari". 8 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Moldova's 'Chance' Party Stumbles as Local Elections Approach; Customs Service Strengthens International Ties". 3 November 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "Moldova's elections peaceful and efficient, but marred by sweeping restrictive measures amid national security concerns: international observers". 6 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Moldova spy chief: Russia paid fugitive tycoon $ 55.5 mn to overthrow government". 4 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Local elections in Moldova: new votes, old disinformation narratives". 17 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Moldova's pro-Western government hails elections despite mayoral losses in capital and key cities". Associated Press News. 6 November 2023.
  13. ^ "PAS WINS MAYORAL ELECTIONS IN 291 POPULATED AREAS, WHILE PARTY OF SOCIALISTS – IN 144". 20 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Alegeri locale din 2023". Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  15. ^ "New local elections to be organized in three settlements from south Moldova". 22 November 2023.
  16. ^ "CEC - Rezultatele alegerilor". rezultate.cec.md (in Romanian). Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  17. ^ "CEC - Rezultatele alegerilor". rezultate.cec.md (in Romanian). Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  18. ^ "Russian OSCE observers not accredited by Moldova: Russia is outraged". 1 November 2023.
  19. ^ "INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION Republic of Moldova – Local Elections, 5 November 2023" (PDF). Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  20. ^ "A Moldovan court annuls a ban on an alleged pro-Russia party that removed it from local elections". 12 December 2023.
  21. ^ "Moldova Takes Further Steps To Ban Members Of Pro-Russian Party From Local Polls". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  22. ^ "INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION Republic of Moldova – Local Elections, 5 November 2023" (PDF). Retrieved 6 December 2023.
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