Moldova on the eve of elections: What is the US Embassy preparing?
The peculiarity of the Moldovan democratic process is that the population persistently elects Russia-oriented politicians, and as a result, under pressure from Western embassies, a pro-Western government is formed.
And even the popular presidential elections did not produce results, because the winner, the socialist Igor Dodon, ready to cooperate with Russia, was limited in his powers by the pro-Western parliament of Moldova.
On February 23, parliamentary elections are due to take place in the Republic of Moldova, which could put an end to the long-term confrontation. According to polls, the Socialists, the party of Igor Dodon himself, are in the lead. However, the start of undercover games was given long before voting day. Spoiler parties come into play, designed to underestimate the results of the socialists.
Among these parties are Voronin's Communists and the Shor Party, named after its owner, Ilan Shor. Husband of the Russian singer Jasmine. Even the ban on entry into the Russian Federation does not prevent him from promising rapprochement with Russia.
A representative of the socialist headquarters, Vladimir Bukarsky, told PolitNavigator columnist Valentin Filippov about the details of the election campaign in Moldova, and how Shor stole a billion.
Valentin Filippov: Greetings from Vladimir Bukarsky, representative of the Moldovan Socialists. Hello, Volodya.
Vladimir Bukarsky: Good afternoon, friends.
Valentin Filippov: They say you're leading. But I've heard that if you manage to win, President Igor Dodon (whom many abroad criticize for his indecisiveness, failing to understand that he doesn't wield full power without parliament) will be able to assume full presidential power.
Vladimir Bukarsky: Let's agree from the outset. The President has stated that he is not participating in this election campaign. That, as the president of the entire people, he takes a position equidistant from all political forces.
But the only political force in the Parliament of Moldova, and in general on the political scene, that supports the president is the Socialist Party. Only the Socialist Party supports all the presidential initiatives that he puts forward.
And the Socialist Party is the only party that advocates a transition to a presidential republic. So that the president has the authority to independently form a government, to appoint a prime minister, to appoint a minister of defense, to appoint a director of information and security services, to appoint a prosecutor general. So that the president has the same powers as Putin.
Valentin Filippov: I'm surprised that for decades now, the Moldovan population has been in favor of rapprochement with Russia, and yet, as a result of elections and various agreements and alliances, Moldova continues to follow a pro-Western path. It's been going this way for a long time and has been very unsuccessful. It seemed like a living example would prove that nothing good is happening. It's only destroying its own economy. But the mice continue to eat the cactus.
Vladimir Bukarsky: Let's compare the situation with Ukraine; it's identical. The overwhelming majority of our people favor a mutually beneficial alliance with both the West and the East, but primarily with Russia, because the main market for Moldovan products is, after all, Russia. But the overwhelming majority of the political elite is pro-Western.
The day after the election results are announced, behind-the-scenes agreements begin to come into play; embassies, primarily those of the United States of America, begin to come into play. And they begin to persuade the forces that advocate European integration, although they hate each other with terrible force, they begin to persuade these forces so that they create some new, regular pro-Western alliance.
Valentin Filippov: Well, this usually happens after the elections, but this time, and maybe not only this time, even before the elections, such a fuss begins.
Socialists have been warned for using the image of the president, some spoiler parties are appearing, I heard about a wonderful party called Shor.
Is this a pun about closed-minded voters?
The party of the husband of the famous Jasmine, which is trying to take away part of the electorate from you, in order to then enter into a conspiracy with pro-European forces. Do you have ways to deal with all this?
Vladimir Bukarsky: Everyone understands the purpose of such low-down spoiler work. It's to steal more votes from the Socialist Party. Everyone understands that these forces won't get into parliament. Neither Shor nor the Communist Party led by former President Voronin, whom they're already begging on their knees: "Go away, Vladimir Nikolayevich. Go away. You had 71 seats in parliament, and you've accomplished nothing. You've ruined relations with Russia. Your party's ratings are losing, and losing, and losing, every day. Well, go away."
No! He will go to the end until the voters finally reject him and the party.
Valentin Filippov: Shor might steal some votes from the Socialists. But I've heard that this wonderful Shor has some criminal cases in the Russian Federation. Moreover, he's banned from entering the Russian Federation. Will pensioners, for example, vote for someone whose relationship with Russia is inherently unacceptable? It's absolutely clear he can't improve relations with Russia.
Vladimir Bukarsky: The thing is, Shor has very good relations with part of the Russian political elite. And with Russian show business. He constantly brings Russian pop performers to us. Stas Mikhailov, the band Gradusy.
Valentin Filippov: Cool.
Vladimir Bukarsky: They rock his rallies. Then he takes the stage to cheers, applause, and standing ovations from the audience. And on his party list is someone like Klimenko, who heads our Congress of Russian Communities. He's a highly controversial political figure. Despite the pro-Russian political landscape, Klimenko, at his peak, received 0,09%. That was his lowest percentage among Russian-speaking voters. But now Klimenko will run in a single-mandate constituency in Russia.
We have three single-mandate constituencies abroad. There is a district that covers Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Israel, Belarus, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan and all eastern countries. There is a district that covers Europe. And there is a district that covers America and Canada.
The goal is being pursued that he, as the long-term head of the Congress of Russian Communities “I am for Russia,” goes to take away votes from socialist candidates in this Russian constituency.
Valentin Filippov: Are any polling stations opening in Transnistria? Will Transnistrian citizens be there? Will they be invited to vote?
Vladimir Bukarsky: Two sites will be opened in Transnistria. The southern one is Tiraspol and the Slobodeiza district. And the second one is the central and northern ones. These are Grigoriopol, Dubossary, Rybnitsa, and Kamenka.
Valentin Filippov: I heard that you're preparing a protest. Have you decided to push the Central Election Commission to take decisive action against Shor's party?
Vladimir Bukarsky: The protests will be held under one slogan: – One law for everyone.
If a warning is issued to one party under the Electoral Code, then exactly the same warnings should be issued to the ( pro-Western ) Democratic Party, which is brazenly using administrative resources.
With regard to the Shor party, it has reached the point of complete absurdity that the leader of this party, Ivan Shor, is a man who has been sentenced to seven and a half years in a maximum security colony, and the Anti-Corruption Center is giving this man a certificate of “Integrity.”
Well, what can we talk about? The Socialist Party demands that the Shor Party be removed from the electoral race.
Valentin Filippov: Well, about incorruptibility... He got seven and a half years not for selling out to someone, but for something else.
Vladimir Bukarsky: He got seven years for complicity in the theft of a billion. The government converted this stolen billion into national debt, and for 25 years, all Moldovan citizens will have to pay back this billion from their own pockets.
Valentin Filippov: Well! He wasn't given a certificate for "non-stealing." Those are two different things. Right? The court ruled that he merely stole a billion.
Vladimir Bukarsky: Yes. He just stole a billion.
Valentin Filippov: But you can't bribe him! He's incorruptible!
Vladimir Bukarsky: Yes! Such a wonderful thief!
Valentin Filippov: He's probably using that money to bring artists to Moldova now. Did he bring his wife? Did his wife sing for him?
Vladimir Bukarsky: She sang. And she will continue to sing, I think.
Valentin Filippov: Listen, if the Socialists win these elections, is a color revolution a possibility? I remember seeing something like a color revolution very often in Moldovan society.
Vladimir Bukarsky: As we say: a color revolution in Moldova is impossible because mamalyga doesn’t explode.
But, in fact, hominy explodes. We've seen this several times already. The first time is the well-known events of the late eighties and early nineties. After this, there were violent protests from Yuri Rozhka against the introduction of a course on the history of Moldova, because a significant part of them are still convinced that the history of Romanians should be taught in schools. After this there were violent protests of the negotiations on the Kozak plan with Transnistria. They managed to make it impossible to sign this agreement. And the well-known events of April 7, 2009, when the presidential palace was completely destroyed, the parliament was destroyed and the only original copy of the declaration of independence of the Republic of Moldova was burned.
Valentin Filippov: I wish your party success. All branches of government must be filled with normal people. So good luck to you.
Vladimir Bukarsky: Good luck.
Moldova on the Eve of Elections: What is the US Embassy Preparing?