Communist victory confirmed in Moldova poll recount
April 21, 2009
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CHISINAU (Reuters) – Moldova’s ruling Communist party was again declared the winner on Tuesday in the ex-Soviet state’s disputed parliamentary election in a recount ordered after violent protests against the initial result.
Iurie Ciocan, Secretary of the Central Election Commission, said the results differed little from the original figures issued after the April 5 election giving the Communists just short of 50 percent of the vote.
“The difference between the recount and original count is not significant,” Ciocan told reporters after a Commission meeting.
He read out figures showing the Communists far ahead with more than 760,000 votes of 1.556 million cast. He gave no percentage figures, but said the relative standings of the parties would be unchanged.
The recount must still be confirmed by the Constitutional Court, which ordered the recount at the request of Communist President Vladimir Voronin.
The original figures gave the Communists, in power since 2001, 60 of 101 seats, one short of the number needed to elect their candidate when the assembly elects a new president.
Voronin has been in power since 2001 and cannot stand for a third term, but says he wants to retain a decision-making role. He called for the recount after protesters denouncing the vote as rigged ransacked the president’s offices and parliament.
Voronin accused opposition parties of trying to stage a coup and said neighboring Romania had fomented the violence. But he said the recount could restore trust in the country of 4 million wedged between Ukraine and EU member Romania.
Opposition parties, broadly pro-Romanian in outlook, said they would mount a legal challenge to the recount.
“We, the three opposition parties, will challenge the result in the Chisinau Court of Appeal. We do not agree with it,” said Nicolae Railean of the Our Moldova party.
The three parties scored a combined total of 35.34 percent in the original count and won 41 seats.
(Reporting by Dmitry Chubashenko, writing by Ron Popeski)
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