The positions of political parties on the electoral system are mainly dictated by their electoral interests and their potential within each type of electoral system, doctor of political sciences Aurelia Peru-Balan, university lecturer, stated for IPN.
From the perspective of political communication and presence in the media, by promoting the uninominal voting system the Democratic Party builds its image and promotes political PR as management of a current problem faced in the Moldovan political system: making of local elected officials more responsible. Video spots are widely disseminated. The public TV channel does not realize that it favors a political player by promoting these advertisements that are not social, but political, said Aurelia Peru-Balan.
According to the expert, one of the key reasons why the PDM wants uninominal voting derives from the poor standing of the party in opinion polls. The PDM does not enjoy credibility in the electoral environment, even if it now manages the administrative resources. If things had had a different tendency, the party’s ex-leader Marian Lupu wouldn’t have been withdrawn from the presidential race. The gesture confirmed the party’s electoral failure, but not the support for a pro-European candidate. Given the number of local councilors that the PDM has and its ability to recruit new members from different doctrinaire areas, this party could easily build a parliamentary group in the future. The intention to ensure the presence of those from Transnistria, Gagauzia and Taraclia, which have ethnical minorities in the legislature, is a hypothesis that cannot be excluded.
Aurelia Peru-Balan also said that the main reason why the Party of Socialists does not support the idea of uninominal voting is the fact that this party, which gave birth to a President, has sufficient electoral support and became a politic brand. For a party with real chances of becoming a majority party in Parliament, it is normal to argue in favor of the current proportional representation system.
In the case of the Party “Action and Solidarity”, the popularity of the party that appeared amid expectations of an alternative to the government, derives more from the leader’s popularity, not vice versa. After the presidential elections of 2016, this party acquired a particular amount of popular authority. This became a political brand on the political market. According to polls, PAS is among the parties that could enter the next legislature. In case of uninominal voting, not many members of this party could be elected MPs in constituencies.
The lecturer said the Liberal Democratic Party argues against the uninominal voting system to show respect for the scientific theory. The proportional representation systems enable the emergence of a democratic system that ensures the much broader involvement of different social groups in the political debate and decision-making, which Lijphart called ‘consociative democracy’. This way or another, the party’s chances to return to Parliament after the next elections are small because the party does not have a charismatic leader. The mixed system for which the PLDM pleaded in 2010 envisioned other rules of the game, but even in the case of the mixed electoral system, the proportional voting mechanism can be dominant.
Aurelia Peru-Balan noted the necessity of reforming the electoral system is dictated by the diminution of the moral influence of politicians and of the people’s confidence in state institutions, parties and party leaders. Theoretically, the uninominal voting system favors the bi-party system on which the PDM counts. The political migration of the 14 ex-Communists who promote the Social-Democratic doctrine confirms this hypothesis.
The theory of political science shows that uninominal voting can ensure political stability and monor-color government. Those with profitable businesses or relations with the state have bigger chances of being elected MPs. The uninominal voting system, by the substantial costs incurred, leads to the recruitment of candidates from the business community. Therefore, more businesspeople and fewer persons competent in lawmaking in almost all the areas would enter Parliament. The situation is the worst as regards social policies, in education, health and the mass media, stated Aurelia Peru-Balan.
