Moldovan elections important for cooperation with EU
Marko Mihkelson, chairman of the European affairs committee in the Estonian parliament, and Marianne Mikko, former head of the European Parliament's delegation to Moldova, find that the Moldovan elections are important in order to ensure better cooperation with the European Union.
"EU presidency Sweden has bluntly said that the Moldovan authorities are standing before a choice, because the European Union is prepared to open its eastern partnership program to Moldova and facilitate the visa regime," Mikko said. She said that this would only be done in case the elections were free and democratic.
"The most important thing, however, is respect of the constitutional framework and achievement of priorities important for the country through this," Mihkelson told BNS. He added that this included also closer cooperation with the European Union in the framework of the European Union's Eastern Partnership.
Andres Herkel, deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, said the best thing they could give to Moldova in connection with the elections was cooperation between parties and the ability to make sensible agreements. He added that the exclusive power of the Communists could not continue in the present manner, but it was difficult to forecast the scope of the breakthrough at the moment.
Herkel said that in Moldova the Democratic Party could decide the Communists' return to power one more time.
"The former parliament speaker Marian Lupu, who has seceded from the Communists, will become the pointer of balance," Herkel told BNS. In fact, it is up to Lupu's Democratic Party to decide whether they should come to an agreement with the Communist Party in forming the paraliament as a result of which they would have 61 seats and would thus be able to elect the president.
Besides, Lupu can cooperate also with the other opposition parties and in that case the Communist will not get access to power.
In Mikko's opinion there is high likelyhood that the Communists will remain in the minory in parliament.
"At the moment the Communists have 48 seats out of 101 and if the opposition rally together they will have a sure majority," Mikko said. She added that considering the present moods in Moldova, this was quite possible. Mikko said that according to the present results the ruling Communist Party had fewer seats than in the spring elections.
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