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Moldovans vote in election re-run | Moldovans vote in election re-run |
(about 7 hours later) | |
Moldovans are voting in the second parliamentary election in four months, with memories still fresh of the violence that followed the first poll. | |
A BBC correspondent says voting has been very brisk. The election authority says turnout has already exceeded the 33% required to make the vote valid. | |
Opposition parties claim the April vote was rigged in favour of the Communists. | |
The result prompted thousands of people to take to the streets, clashing with police and storming parliament. | |
Assessments of April's vote were mixed. Some international observers reported flaws but others found it generally fair. | |
'Lenin! Lenin!' they chanted, but their T-shirts carried the EU logo Divided as ever over new poll Q&A: Moldovan election | 'Lenin! Lenin!' they chanted, but their T-shirts carried the EU logo Divided as ever over new poll Q&A: Moldovan election |
More than 3,000 foreign and Moldovan observers are supposed to be monitoring Wednesday's re-run, though one group pulled its 140 monitors out because some were barred, causing a storm of protest. | |
Polling stations opened at 0400 GMT and are due to close at 1800 GMT. | |
The Central Electoral Committee said the voting rate was ahead of that in April, and that a third of voters had posted ballots by early afternoon. | |
One of the first to vote was President Vladimir Voronin, a Communist. He warned that the authorities would not allow a repeat of the rioting that followed April's vote. | |
"Moldova cannot allow this a second time," he said. | |
"The security forces are ready to react to maintain the order and security of the country and will not allow a repeat of these sad events." | |
Mr Voronin is due to step down as president after serving the maximum of two terms. | |
However the Communist Party won only 60 of parliament's 101 seats in April - one short of the 61 seats needed to elect a new president. The opposition parties united to make sure the 61 target was not met, forcing parliament to be dissolved. | |
Coalition pledge | Coalition pledge |
Opinion polls this month suggested a drop in support for the Communists. | Opinion polls this month suggested a drop in support for the Communists. |
One voter, 19-year-old Sasha from the capital Chisinau, said: "I am for the Communists. They create a certain stability. We can't continue like this, with demonstrations and repeat elections." | |
But Andreea Gaibu, 28, said: "We urgently need change. We need a free press and a free economy." | |
In Wednesday's vote, at least three opposition parties hope to join the Communist Party in parliament - the Liberal Party, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Our Moldova Alliance. | |
They have pledged to create a ruling coalition if they collectively gain enough votes. | They have pledged to create a ruling coalition if they collectively gain enough votes. |
They have also said that they will co-operate with the Communist Party in the new parliament if the "early election is fair, democratic and transparent". | They have also said that they will co-operate with the Communist Party in the new parliament if the "early election is fair, democratic and transparent". |
Mr Voronin's successor will lead the poorest country in Europe - where the average wage is just under $250 (£151) a month - and will inherit an unresolved conflict over the breakaway region of Trans-Dniester. | Mr Voronin's successor will lead the poorest country in Europe - where the average wage is just under $250 (£151) a month - and will inherit an unresolved conflict over the breakaway region of Trans-Dniester. |