The electoral campaign started in the Republic of Moldova on August 29, one month before the September 28 parliamentary elections, where the ruling pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) is seeking to keep the country along the European accession trajectory while the main opposition bloc led by the Socialists promises cheap Russian natural gas and extensive industrialisation, indirectly suggesting a silent withdrawal from the accession talks.
The parties backed by the Kremlin through fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor were banned from elections, but the Russian support was reportedly shifted to the more moderate pro-Russian parties that might boost their score.
This past weekend, Romanian President Nicusor Dan paid his third visit to the Republic of Moldova since his mandate began in June, on an occasion not directly related to the electoral campaign, which he said is not a topic on the Romanian authorities’ agenda.
However, by supporting Moldova’s pro-EU accession, as French president Emanuel Macron and Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki did earlier last week, president Dan’s visit has visibly had an electoral implication. Analysts saw the Romanian leader’s visit to Chisinau not for Independence Day but for the Romanian Language Day as a sign of hidden unionism.
Moldovan president Maia Sandu, founder of PAS and the country’s most active pro-EU politician, warned that the elections are crucial for the country’s fate and warned of Russian interference.
The PAS election program includes signing the agreement on Moldova’s accession to the EU in 2028, doubling the income of the working population, increasing the export of Moldovan goods and services to international markets, repairing 3,000 km of roads, and creating a program to promote national culture in the country and abroad, according to Newsmaker.md.
The Patriotic Bloc, which is the main opposition force, unites the Socialists of former president Igor Dodon, the Communists of former president Vladimir Voronin, the Heart of Moldova of former governor of Gagauzia (predominantly pro-Russian area), and Future of Moldova parties.
The bloc’s representatives said they intend to conclude a five-year contract for gas supplies and set the tariff at no more than 6-8 lei per cubic meter. Their program also provides for the creation of 18 multifunctional industrial platforms in the country’s districts, free meals for all schoolchildren, a return to the retirement age of 57, financial assistance on holidays, and indexation of pensions twice a year.
In a move to mark its conservative intentions, the Patriotic Bloc began the election campaign on August 29 at the walls of the Capriana Monastery. The abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Filaret, and the vicar of the Moldovan Metropolitanate, Ioan Mosneguţă, said in a comment to Newsmaker.md that the church has nothing to do with politics.
iulian@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Sjankauskas/Dreamstime.com)
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