Invalidated Referendum in Chisinau

An attempt by pro-Russian Socialists to bring down the pro-Western Mayor of Chisinau, Dorin Chirtoaca, through a referendum, failed because of the low turnout

Bogdan Matei, 20.11.2017, 15:25

As predicted by many analysts, the voter turnout in the referendum aimed at dismissing the Liberal Dorin Chirtoaca, mayor general of Chisinau, in the Republic of Moldova, was too low to get the initiative validated. Only 17.5% of the voters went to the polls, as compared to a minimum one-third of eligible voters. The referendum was initiated by the pro-Russian Socialists Party headed by president Igor Dodon, and backed by two other left-wing parties, with most pro-European parties in the country boycotting the vote. Quite disappointed after the failure, the Socialists accuse the local authorities of tampering with the voter lists precisely in order to make sure that the required number of votes would not be reached.

Chirtoaca, on the other hand, thanked the citizens of the Moldovan capital for not taking part in the vote. But, he cautioned, the problem is far from being solved. Although the dismissal will not go through, Chirtoaca is still suspended from office. But according to Radio Romania correspondents in Chisinau, he is determined to complete his third term in office, due to end in the summer of 2018.

Chirtoacas political and judicial problems started on May 25, when he and 9 other City Hall officials were arrested by prosecutors with the National Anti-Corruption Centre, under accusations of influence peddling and overstepping his powers. In July he was suspended from office, and this month he was released from house arrest and placed under court supervision. The accusations against him, some commentators say, are rather insubstantial and aimed at political revenge.

Born into a family of anti-Soviet militants and educated accordingly, Dorin Chirtoaca was first elected to office in 2007, at 29 years of age, to become the youngest mayor of a European capital city. A graduate from the Bucharest Law School, he has always been unequivocal about his Romanian identity, and as a senior vice-president of the Liberal Party he has been lobbying for Moldova joining Romania. In the elections of 2011 and 2015, he defeated the pro-Russians most prominent candidates, the incumbent president Igor Dodon and the former prime minister Zinaida Greceanyi.

The elections for mayor of Chisinau, the city where one-third of Moldovas citizens live and which generates half of the countrys GDP, have always had a huge geo-political importance, analysts say. Both for the pro-Western parties, and for the pro-Russians, Chisinau is by far the most coveted electoral trophy, and the election of the mayor is also a choice between Europe and Russia. Just like his predecessors, Nicolae Costin and Serafim Urecheanu, Chirtoaca was elected each time by Chisinaus pro-Western majority, the same majority which on Sunday chose to boycott the referendum initiated by the Socialists.