The politics of Moldova take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic,wherein the prime minister is the head of the Government of Moldova,and a multi-party system. The President of Moldova has no important powers. The government exercises executive power while the legislative power is vested in the Parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The position of the breakaway region of Transnistria,relations with Romania and with Russia,and integration into the EU dominate political discussions.
Moldova,officially the Republic of Moldova,is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe,on the northeastern corner of the Balkans. The country spans a total of 33,483 km2 and has a population of approximately 2.5 million as of January 2023. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north,east,and south. The unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria lies across the Dniester river on the country's eastern border with Ukraine. Moldova is a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic with its capital in Chișinău,the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre.
The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova is a communist party in Moldova led by Vladimir Voronin. It is the only communist party to have held a majority government in the post-Soviet states. It has been variously described as communist,Moldovenist,populist,Russophile,and pro-Soviet.
The president of the Republic of Moldova is the head of state of Moldova. The current president is Maia Sandu,who assumed office on 24 December 2020.
Moldova elects a legislature at national level. The Parliament (Parlamentul) has 101 members,elected for a four-year term by proportional representation with a 6% electoral threshold. The President used to be elected for a four-year term by a constitutional majority of 60% members of the Parliament,but a Constitutional Court's ruling on 4 March 2016,reverted the election method of the President to a two-round system direct election.
The European Social Democratic Party is a centre-left,populist social-democratic political party in Moldova. Established in 1997,the party holds pro-European views,and is an associate member of the Party of European Socialists (PES) and a full member of the Socialist International. According to its statute,the PSDE pleads that Moldova is an independent,sovereign,and democratic state,based on law,and integrated in the united family of European democracies. Reflecting former leader Marian Lupu's views,but also the strong influence of the Moldovan Orthodox Church,the party is more conservative on social issues,such as LGBT rights.
The Parliament of Moldova is the supreme representative body of the Republic of Moldova,the only state legislative authority,being a unicameral structure composed of 101 elected MPs on lists,for a period or legislature of 4 years. The Parliament of Moldova is elected by universal vote,equal directly,secret and freely expressed. The president of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova is elected by the Parliament,with a minimum of 52 votes.
The unification of Moldova and Romania is a popular concept in the two countries that began during the Revolutions of 1989. The Romanian Revolution in 1989 and the independence of Moldova in 1991 further contributed to the development of a movement for the unification of the two Romanian-speaking countries. The question of reunification is recurrent in the public sphere of the two countries,often as a speculation,both as a goal and a danger. Though historically Romanian support for unification was high,a 2022 survey during the Russian invasion of Ukraine indicated that only 11% of Romania's population supports an immediate union,while over 42% think it is not the right moment.
Mihai Ghimpu is a Moldovan politician who served as Speaker of Parliament and Acting President of Moldova from 2009 to 2010. He was member of Parliament of Moldova from 1990 to 1998 and from 2009 to 2019. Ghimpu held the position of leader of Liberal Party (PL) from 1998 to 2018.
The Stolojan Cabinet was the Cabinet of the Government of Romania between 16 October 1991 and 19 November 1992. It was the fourth post-communist cabinet. The Prime Minister was Theodor Stolojan,a former financial bureaucrat during communism. Stolojan was an independent minister of finance in the Roman cabinet,dominated by the FSN. The Stolojan Cabinet was a transition cabinet,in charge with organizing the elections,and included FSN members and members from other parties national liberals,ecologists,agrarians,and independents.
The Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova is a conservative political party in Moldova. The party is led by Tudor Deliu. Until 2016,PLDM was led by Vlad Filat,who was Prime Minister of Moldova from 2009 to 2013,in two cabinets. Immediately after the 2014 parliamentary elections,with 21 seats in the Moldovan Parliament,PLDM was the largest of the three democratic pro-European parliamentary parties.
The Alliance for European Integration was a centre-right anti-communist ruling coalition in Moldova from the July 2009 election until it lost to a no confidence vote in the Parliament on February 13,2013. It was succeeded by the anti-communist Pro-European Coalition.
The independence of Moldova was officially recognized on 2 March 1992,when Moldova gained membership of the United Nations. The nation had declared its independence from the Soviet Union on 27 August 1991,and was a co-founder of the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States. Moldova became fully independent from the Soviet Union that December,and joined the United Nations three months later.
Ion Hadârcă is a poet,translator and Moldovan politician,deputy to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova between 1990 and 1998 and from 2009 to 2014. Ion Hadârcăwas the founder and first president of the Popular Front of Moldova (1989–1992),chairman of the Liberal Reformist Party.
Vasile Ursu is a Moldovan engineer and politician,MP at the first Parliament of the Republic of Moldova in 1990-1994,acting interim general mayor of Chișinău in 2005-2007 and minister of transport and road management for 2007-2008. In 2008-2009 he held the position of Deputy Minister of Construction and Territory Development.
Dan Gheorghe Dungaciu is a Romanian sociologist.
The Party of Action and Solidarity is a liberal political party in Moldova. The PAS was founded by Maia Sandu,the former Minister of Education and the incumbent president of Moldova. A pro-European party,it is an observer of the European People's Party (EPP) and the International Democrat Union (IDU).
The Save Romania Union is a liberal political party active in Romania,currently the third largest party in the Parliament of Romania with 41 deputies and 20 senators,and a fifth at local level nationwide,after the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) and the People's Movement Party (PMP),two smaller centre-right political parties in the country.
Snap parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 11 July 2021. Following the resignation of Ion Chicu,the position of Prime Minister became vacant,with the Parliament being obligated to form a new government within three months. After the expiration of the constitutionally mandated period and two failed attempts to win parliamentary approval for the proposed cabinets,the Constitutional Court ruled on 15 April that the circumstances justifying a dissolution of the parliament were met. President Maia Sandu signed the decree dissolving the Parliament on 28 April and snap parliamentary elections were called on.
