Moldova Communists one vote short of presidential power (Roundup)

Apr 9, 2009, 13:50 GMT

Chisinau/Kiev - Moldova's ruling Communist Party was one vote short of the number needed to name the country's next president, according to final election results released late Wednesday.

The final figures were made public after three days of dramatic protests against an overwhelming Communist victory at polls.

More than 2,500 mostly student-age protestors had gathered in the central square of the Moldovan capital Chisinau by Thursday afternoon.

Police continued to monitor key intersections and government buildings, but in small numbers. There was no conflict between law enforcement personnel and protestors.

Demonstrators on Tuesday occupied and set ablaze the parliament building, smashed windows, hurled paving stones at police and ransacked the presidential residence.

One person died from smoke inhalation, and more than 200 were injured in the chaos.

Government workers by Thursday morning had cleared up almost all debris in Chisinau's centre, and repairmen were working on damaged windows and pavement.

Moldovan police recaptured the parliament structure in the capital Chisinau Wednesday morning, just hours before the adjusted election results were released.

Demonstrator numbers fell to a few hundred by Wednesday evening, and by midnight, the crowds had dispersed completely.

Demands by the protestors had included immediate resignation from power of President Vladimir Voronin, a recount of the Sunday vote results, and release of some 250 person arrested by police in the Tuesday violence.

The Voronin government thus far has ignored the demands.

Security remained tight at Moldova's borders and in rural regions, with Moldovan border troops enforcing a ban on the entrance of all foreign reporters, and police monitoring major roads leading to the capital to block youths potentially driving into Chisinau to protest.

Voronin on Wednesday accused Romanian nationalist groups of attempting to overthrow the Moldovan government, by inciting Moldovan student protestors to riot.

Moldovan border police were requiring Romanian citizens to obtain visas to enter Moldova, for the first time ever in Moldova.

Moldova's government had arrested 193 persons allegedly responsible for inciting the crowd to attack government buildings on Tuesday, and all detained potentially faced charges of attempting a coup against the government, said Alla Meleka, a Moldova Interior Ministry spokeswoman.

The crime carries a potential sentence of 25 years imprisonment.

Valeria Gurbulia, Moldova's prosecutor general, identified the alleged chief organizer of the Tuesday protests as Gabriel Stati, the son of Anatolie Stati, Moldova's wealthiest magnate and a longtime Voronin opponent.

Ukrainian police in the Black Sea city Odessa had arrested Gabriel Stati and Chisinau intended to extradite him, Gurbulia said.

Ukrainian Interior Ministry spokesmen confirmed the arrest at Odessa airport of two Moldovan citizens, but had no additional comments on Gurbulia's statements regarding Stati.

Initial polling results made public Monday had given the ruling Communists 61 votes in Moldova's 101-seat legislature, which would have enabled them to name the next president without coalition talks.

But Moldova's Central Election Commission on Wednesday evening said the party had taken only 60 seats, at the same time declaring open to public inspection all voting registers.

Opposition groups immediately after the Sunday vote accused the Communists of slanting results in their favour by, among other tactics, tampering with voter rolls.

Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin on Wednesday rejected the accusations saying 'We (Communists) not only did not commit any vote fraud, we never even considered the idea. ... We won fairly.'

Opposition parties according to the official results control 41 seats, with which they can now block the election of a new president. Election officials also guaranteed that opposition parties would have access to the election documents and records.

Vladimir Voronin, who heads the Communist Party, must step down after two terms in office. His party has ruled for eight years.

In its final calculations, the electoral commission added a half of a per cent to the opposition win, bringing it to 49.48 per cent.

Opposition seats will be filled by representatives from three liberal democratic parties. Eight other parties failed to attract enough support to gain an MP slot.

International monitoring groups including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said the Sunday vote was generally democratic, with few violations of election law.

But opposition parties in the wake of the election claimed the vote was inherently unfair, as the election campaign was conducted with strong Communist party control of major media and regional governments.