Next Moldovan parliamentary election

The next parliamentary elections in Moldova must be held by 2023. Amidst a constitutional crisis in June 2019, parliamentary elections were called for 6 September 2019 by Pavel Filip after he was appointed acting president due to Igor Dodon's temporary suspension from office. However, Filip later stepped down.

Next Moldovan parliamentary election

By Early 2021
All 101 seats in Parliament 51 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Leader Igor Dodon Igor Grosu (acting) Andrei Năstase Party PSRM PAS PPDA Leader since 2020 2020 2015 Last election 35 seats, 31.2% 15 seats, 26.8%[lower-alpha 1] 12 seats, 26.8%[lower-alpha 1] Current seats 37 15 11 Seats needed 14 36 40   Leader Pavel Filip Ilan Shor Andrian Candu Party Democratic Șor Pro Moldova Leader since 2019 2016 2020 Last election 30 seats, 23.6% 7 seats, 8.3% Did not contest Current seats 11 9 7 Seats needed 40 42 44   Leader Renato Usatîi Party PN Leader since 2014 Last election 0 seats, 2.9% Current seats 0 Seats needed 51
Incumbent Prime Minister Aureliu Ciocoi (acting) Independent

Background

The Constitution of Moldova mandates that a government must be formed within three months of official results of parliamentary elections being proclaimed by the Constitutional Court. The results of the 24 February elections were confirmed on 9 March. On 8 June a coalition government led by Maia Sandu was formed by the Party of Socialists (PSRM) and the ACUM alliance. However, the Democratic Party (PDM) petitioned the Supreme Court, claiming that the government had not been formed in time. The Court interpreted the three-month deadline as 90 days, which meant the deadline had been 7 June, and concluded that snap elections should be held. The following day the Court suspended President Igor Dodon (a former PSRM leader) from exercising his presidential powers and duties for failing to dissolve parliament, and appointed former prime minister Pavel Filip of the PDM as acting president. Filip subsequently issued a decree calling for early elections for 6 September.[1]

Dodon and the PSRM–ACUM coalition called the process illegal. The governments of Russia, France, Germany, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom all recognised the newly-formed Sandu cabinet as the legitimate government. On 14 June Filip stepped down and allowed the PSRM–ACUM government to take office. However, the new government was subsequently ousted in a motion of no confidence in Parliament on 12 November 2019 in a dispute over a draft law assumed by the government to delegate a part of its plenary powers to the Prime Minister to propose a "short list" with the candidates for Prosecutor General's position.[2][3]

Another new PSRM-PDM government, headed by Ion Chicu, was formed on 14 November 2019.[4] The Democratic Party left the coalition on 7 November 2020, during the 2020 Moldovan presidential election, to allow the formation of a new government under the new president.[5] The Chicu cabinet remained in office as a minority government, supported by the Șor Party, with the PDM ministers being replaced by independents. Former prime minister and PAS (ACUM) leader Maia Sandu was elected president on 15 November 2020. Chicu resigned on 23 December, hours ahead of a PAS-sponsored motion of no confidence. Snap elections are expected in early 2021.

Electoral system

The 101 seats in the Parliament are elected by party-list proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency. An electoral list may contain 51 to 103 candidates. The nation-wide electoral threshold varies depending on the type of list; for single parties or organisations it is 5%; for an electoral bloc of two or more parties it is 7%. For independent candidates the threshold is 2%.[6]

Opinion polls

Notes

1. Within the NOW Platform DA and PAS alliance in the 2019 election.

References

1. Snap elections called as Moldova crisis escalates BBC News, 9 June 2019
2. "R. Moldova: Guvernul Maiei Sandu a fost demis prin moțiune de cenzură", Europa Liberă România, retrieved November 18, 2019
3. "Guvernul condus de Maia Sandu a fost demis. Dodon se apucă să-și facă propriul cabinet", DW.COM, retrieved November 18, 2019
4. "Moldovan parliament approves Ion Chicu as new prime minister". Reuters. 2019-11-14. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
5. "Pavel Filip, despre revocarea miniștrilor PDM: Este nevoie de o resetare a guvernării", ipn.md, retrieved December 27, 2020
6. "CODUL ELECTORAL" (in Romanian). Retrieved 2020-12-21.