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RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHCH #0009/01 0021320
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021320Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY CHISINAU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6082
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHISINAU 000009 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/UMB, DRL/EA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM MD
SUBJECT: ELECTORAL CHANGES GIVE ADVANTAGES TO RULING PARTY 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified.  Please Protect Accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Changes to the electoral system that recently 
passed in Parliament will limit the playing field and build into the 
electoral code terms that give further advantages to the established 
majority Communist Party (PCRM).  A new law on Political Parties 
adopted in the second reading on December 21, will provide money 
from the state budget to finance political parties based upon the 
number of seats they win in the 2009 elections.  Changes to the 
Electoral Code that Parliament adopted in the first reading on 
December 27 will eliminate electoral blocs and prevent those with 
dual citizenship from running as candidates.  A second bill would 
raise the party threshold floor in parliamentary elections from the 
current 4 percent to 6 percent.  End Summary 
 
Law on Political Parties Provides Public Financing 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2. (U) On December 21 the parliament adopted in the second and final 
reading a Law of Political Parties, which will come into force in 
July 2009, i.e., after the next parliamentary elections.  Article 32 
of this law stipulates that political parties will be financed from 
the public budget, allocating 0.2% of the budget(about 28 million 
lei, or USD 2.5 million dollars) to finance parties that won seats 
in parliament or gained at least 50 local council mandates (raion 
level), to be apportioned in accordance with the number of seats 
they won.  One restrictive measure introduced is that political 
parties will not be allowed to receive financing from abroad, which 
includes even Moldovan citizens living overseas. 
 
¶3. (U) Note:  Though 15 parties won local council seats in the June 
2007 elections, only four parties won more than 50 seats and would 
thus have been eligible to receive funding under this provision of 
the law:  The Communist Party (PCRM), Urechean's Our Moldova 
Alliance (AMN), Iurie Rosca's Christian Democratic Party (PPCD), and 
Diacov's Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM).  Though 23 parties or 
blocs competed in the March 2005 parliamentary elections, only three 
won seats in parliament and would have become eligible for funding 
under this law:  PCRM, PPCD, and the Democratic Moldova Electoral 
Bloc.  End note. 
 
¶4. (U) Fifty-six deputies from the PCRM and from Iurie Rosca's PPCD 
supported the bill.  Several opposition parties, including 
Urechean's AMN, proposed that financing to the parties begin in 
January 2009, in time for the upcoming elections.  Opposition 
parties were very critical of the law, and deputies from Diacov's 
Democratic Party walked out in protest. 
 
¶5. (U) This law came to parliament for its first reading in December 
2006, and then went to the Council of Europe for commentary.  During 
the intervening year, the need to adopt a law on political parties 
remained an outstanding item on Moldova's European roadmap.  With 
the passage of this law, Moldova has now adopted 17 of the 18 laws 
recommended by the Council of Europe. 
 
Changes to Electoral Code would Eliminate Blocs 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶6. (U) On December 27 the parliament adopted in the first reading 
two bills with amendments to the electoral code.   These will still 
have to go through a second reading before they would become law. 
The first bill (draft law 4350) would eliminate electoral blocs from 
participating in elections.  (Note: In the 2005 parliamentary 
elections the parties of Urechean, Diacov, Bragis and Serebrian won 
parliamentary seats by running together in the Democratic Moldova 
Electoral Bloc.  Without electoral blocs some of these parties would 
not be able to make it into parliament.  End Note.) 
 
¶7. (U) Another provision of this law would not permit persons with 
dual citizenship to run for office.  (Note:  In a December 27 
meeting Speaker Lupu told the Ambassador that the EU had complained 
to President Voronin in Brussels about aspects of the dual 
citizenship rules.  Lupu added that the law likely would be 
modified.  End note.) 
 
Seeking to Raise the Parliamentary Threshold 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Another bill that also passed in the first reading on 
December 27 would raise the parliamentary threshold from four 
percent to six percent.  Only the PCRM and PPCD supported this bill. 
 The Communist deputies argued that a higher threshold would allow 
only strong parties to enter the parliament, while opposition 
deputies were critical of the bill's intent to eliminate smaller 
parties from representation.  Moldova had increased the election 
threshold in 2001 from four to six per cent, but reverted to four 
percent in 2005 following the parliamentary election that year. 
During the debate, some mention was made of the possibility of a 
five percent threshold.  As the bill has yet to go to second 
 
CHISINAU 00000009  002 OF 002 
 
 
reading, the outcome is not yet known and five percent may the final 
compromise.  (Note:  The Ambassador told Speaker Lupu in his 
December 27 meeting that a five-percent threshold was closer to the 
European norm.  End note.) 
 
Comment:  Using the Law to Limit the Playing Field 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Taken together these bills will strengthen the Communist 
party at the expense of the opposition.  The smaller parties would 
likely find themselves without government funding, unable to compete 
in blocs, and facing a higher parliamentary threshold.  Some smaller 
parties likely will conclude - correctly - that their only chance to 
win parliamentary seats will be to merge and form new larger 
parties.  Unfortunately, the egos of many of Moldova's politicians 
may well preclude the compromise necessary to create viable mergers. 
 The parties of Bragis and Musuc took a step forward recently when 
the two parties merged.  However, a third party which was to join up 
declined at the last minute to do so.  With the 2009 parliamentary 
elections looming, we expect to see additional party shifts in the 
coming months.  End comment. 
 
KIRBY