Moldova’s pro-Western party wins local elections but fails to secure mayoral post
- 7 November, 04:21
Moldova’s pro-European party ruling party has failed to secure mayoral post in capital Chisinau, while winning in many areas in the first round of local elections held on November 6.
Representative of Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) Lilian Carp lost out to incumbent Chisinau mayor, Ion Ceban, who won around 51 percent of votes, according to the Central Electoral Commission.
In total, 898 mayors and more than 11,000 local councillors will be elected for a four-year term. The OSCE described the elections as “calm and efficiently managed” but marred by restrictive security measures.
Ahead of the Sunday’s elections, Moldovan government expressed concerns over the Kremlin’s meddling activities. President Maia Sandu warned “parties paid by the Kremlin and disguised as pro-European parties… will try to subjugate Moldova to foreign interests” and accused them of buying votes. The Parliament speaker Ion Grosu described the elections as “a test of our European journey.”
The second round of elections is scheduled for November 19.
