Exercising his interim powers under the constitution, Moldova's outgoing president Vladimir Voronin has dissolved the parliament that was elected on April 5 and has called new parliamentary elections for July 29. Voronin's decree, issued on June 15, had become unavoidable after the opposition twice boycotted... MORE

As anticipated (EDM, May 26) Moldovan opposition parties have forced the holding of new general elections by boycotting the election of a head of state in the newly-elected parliament on June 3 (Moldpres, June 3-7). The opposition's move has, in effect, nullified the parliamentary elections... MORE

On May 21 the newly elected Moldovan parliament fell one vote short of the three-fifths majority necessary for electing the head of state. All the 60 deputies from the nominally communist party voted for the party's presidential candidate, incumbent Prime Minister Zenaida Greceanai, who is... MORE

Moldova's newly elected legislature convened for its first full-fledged sitting on May 12 and elected the outgoing head of state, Vladimir Voronin, as Chairman of Parliament. Having completed two presidential terms (2001-2009), and barred by the constitution from seeking a third, Voronin continues as acting... MORE

With its underdeveloped multi-party system and state institutions, dysfunctional law-enforcement and internal security apparatus, budget revenues drying up amid an international financial crisis, and the unresolved Transnistria conflict simmering on the back burner, Moldova now faces the risk of a constitutional crisis.The nominal Communist Party,... MORE

On May 7, in Prague, the Eastern Partnership Project (EPP) was initiated with the participation of Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Belarus. Perhaps reflecting a response to the concerns of several European leaders, Belarus was not represented by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka or Prime Minister... MORE

The security situation in Chisinau has stabilized in the wake of the April 7-8 violent riots, devastation of the parliament and presidency buildings, and post-factum police crackdown. While order has been restored, the political crisis is deepening as the opposition rejects the outcome of the... MORE

The political crisis seems narrowly confined to downtown Chisinau with its state institutions, political party headquarters, and those colleges and lyceums that supply protest demonstrators from time to time. Beyond Chisinau's center, however, the countryside, "the profound Moldova," remains apathetic and seemingly uninterested. There, opinion... MORE

Moldova faces a prolonged political crisis following the April 7 violent devastation of the parliament and presidential buildings by a young mob, after the opposition's loss of the April 5 parliamentary elections (EDM, April 7, 9). The election observation mission, representing the major European institutions,... MORE

Opposition protests against the outcome of Moldova's parliamentary elections triggered the seizure and ransacking of the presidency and parliament buildings by young rioting crowds on April 7 (EDM, April 7). Some 2,530 observers from local NGOs and 620 international observers monitored the elections. The International... MORE