Moldova’s Vote Is a Cautionary Tale for Putin’s Foes
Corruption and mismanagement are undermining pro-European political forces and empowering Russia-leaning ones.
Voting time.
Photographer: Pierre Crom/Getty Images
The inconclusive election in Moldova on Feb. 24 didn’t generate major headlines, but the U.K. government’s decision to confiscate 500,000 pounds ($654,000) from the inexplicably rich son of a former Moldovan prime minister made news earlier this month. Corruption and mismanagement undermined Moldova’s pro-European Union political forces and cheered President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who would like something similar to happen in Ukraine.
In the Moldovan elections, the relatively pro-Russian Socialist Party, formerly led by pro-Putin President Igor Dodon, won a plurality of the vote, about 31.3 percent. The pro-European Union ACUM bloc came in second with 26.4 percent. The ruling Democratic Party, led by Moldova’s richest man, Vladimir Plahotniuc, came in third with 23.8 percent, but it’ll get the second biggest number of seats in Parliament thanks to a new electoral system that combines a proportional vote for party lists and first-past-the-post direct voting.