Thread by @DionisCenusa

#Moldova: Some interesting facts about the upcoming snap elections: 1) Approximately 70,000 diaspora / emigrant voters have provisionally registered (~ 60,000 for the 2020 presidential election); ⤵️

2) 53 political parties were admitted to the elections (2019: 15 parties have registered)
the budget to organize the elections amounts to 125 million MDL (~ 6 million euros). The source of this money has not yet been identified, but it must only come from public funds. ⤵️

4) The main pre-election debate is about forming a bloc or running alone. The pro-Russian socialists are the ones talking about it.⤵️

5) The Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda will visit Moldova on May 13-14. Two days before that the British Minister for the European Neighborhood Wendy Morton pays a visit to Chisinau. President Maia Sandu decorated with a special award the outgoing head of the EU⤵️

delegation Peter Michalko. The growing intensity of the pro-EU/European messages is clearly tied to the upcoming snap elections. Meanwhile, the geopolitical rival of Sandu, the Socialists, is capturing every event that refers to Russia (the school shooting in the Kazan school)⤵️

Ex-President Igor Dodon is trying to gain visibility through meetings with political and diplomatic representatives among the Eurosceptic leaders of Eastern Europe such as Alexandr Lukashenko, visited in Minsk, or the Azerbaijani ambassador Qudsi Osmanov in Chisinau. ⤵️

6) The Socialists formed an electoral bloc with the Communists Party making possible the returning of the latter to the forefront of the Moldovan politics. This can also help the two forces to mobilize the leftist voters.

7) One of the themes promoted by the socialists during the current electoral campaign is about "external interference" as a way to condemn the West-President Sandu ties. Like Orban's anti-Soros campaign, ex-President Dodon is accusing pro-EU forces of relinquishing sovereignty.

8) The caring Govt. has allocated 70 million MDL (~ € 3.3 million) from the Reserve Fund for the organization of the elections. This amount is enough to cover around 60% of the financial needs requested by the Electoral Commission. The Govt. will seek additional sources.

9) Between May 14 and June 11, the Electoral Commission will begin the registration of candidates for the early elections on July 11. As I wrote earlier, 53 political parties are eligible to do so. Individuals can also become candidates by collecting 2k to 2,5k signatures.

10) The Romanian MFA has announced that it will closely monitor the elections and how the solidarity government ensures that they are free and fair. Romania has supported President Sandu's efforts to trigger snap elections.

11) The Bloc of Communists and Socialists induces anti-Western fears. They concern the protection of family values, religion, Moldovan language & identity, & state sovereignty. They target pro-EU forces, especially President Sandu's political arm, the Action and Solidarity Party.

12) The Electoral Commission registered the Socialist-Communist bloc. The electoral list is headed by the third president of the country, Vladimir Voronin (2001-2009). Fifth President Igor Dodon (2016-2020) is next on the list. A bloc of pro-EU forces is highly unlikely.

13) President Sandu's political arm, the Action and Solidarity Party, registered today. The top 10 people on the list include old faces from the dissolved parliament (15 MPs) and new faces from the diaspora. As in the presidential elections, the party relies on the diaspora.

14) Three tiny political forces seeking the reunification with Romania joined the electoral list of the nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR). AUR ranked fourth in the 2020 Romanian elections, resulting in 14 senators (out of 136) & 33 deputies (out of 329).

15) The 2017 case of alleged possession of drugs by journalist Nata Albot was leaked to media today. Border police briefly detained Albot at the airport for 0.7 grams of marijuana. She is in the top 8 on President Sandu's party electoral list in order to get more diaspora votes.