The voters in the Republic of Moldova are informed, but also manipulated in a fragrant and aggressive way. The risk of voter corruption in the October 30 presidential elections won’t be smaller than in the previous elections because bribery cannot be eradicated in a poor state without independent justice, editorialist Petru Bogatu stated for IPN.

He said the Republic of Moldova is under the attack of Russian propaganda as Moscow launched an unprecedented information and political war against the country. On the one hand, the Russian TV channels continue to dominate the media market. On the other hand, Moscow’s agents of influence infiltrated into the political and business circles cause panic and distrust in the pro-European course, create false perceptions and profit from the government’s mistakes in order to stir things up and destabilize the political situation. “In such conditions, the Moldovan voters who are less interested in politics and public activities are more vulnerable. Polls show that over 1/3 of the voters are decided pro-Europeans. Almost one quarter of the voters are filo-Russian nostalgic people. Also, about 40% do not yet have clear political preferences. Namely this category of people can condemn the war against Ukraine and can, simultaneously, admire Putin,” stated Petru Bogatu.

According to the editorialist, two decades ago they could speak only about the electoral activism of elderly persons who regularly attended meetings with politicians and went to vote out of inertia or because they were constrained by the discipline inherited from the Soviet period. Now we see a more active involvement of the people aged between 35 and 55 in the political life. Namely the people of this age category represented the base, for example, of the recent antigovernment protests. It is anticipated that this section of the population will have a say in this autumn’s elections. However, the electoral activism in Moldova is more relevant from the viewpoint of the level of education than of the age groups.

In this regard, civic education has effects on the political culture. “Though it yet leaves to be desired, civic education made headway. The people started to show that they can vote rationally and can identify political solutions,” stated the editorialist. According to him, this year, when the old political system failed, the pro-European voters who have been confused for a period following the discrediting of traditional parties, will confirm their reasonable spirit.

“As last year, the geopolitical views will significantly influence the result of the vote. As long as the representatives of the national minorities have the illusion of a possible Eurasian direction for the Republic of Moldova, which is impertinently exploited by filo-Russian parties, the geopolitical factor will count in our elections,” said Petru Bogatu.

He also said that active people who are more or less educated go mainly abroad. That’s why the people who are abroad, mainly in the European countries, vote rationally and have principally Euro-Atlantic views.

According to the editorialist, the Moldovan population is greatly disappointed and this will undoubtedly have an impact on the vote. At the same time, the alternative proposed by the opposition is open to question. Not all the opponents of the power are well-intentioned. “There are suspicions among the population that we witness settling of an old score between oligarchs under the screen of the political struggle. Some of the opposition parties openly promote the foreign interests of the former parent state. Therefore, even a part of our protesting voters, out of a robust instinct of self-conservation, are inclined to vote for stability and the status quo. I think this tendency that is now slightly perceptible will continue and will become more visible,” stated Petru Bogatu.

He noted that no matter who wins the presidential elections, Moldova’s President will be doomed to disappoint the voters owing to the legislation. Even if the Head of State is elected by direct vote, his/her powers in a parliamentary republic are more ceremonial. The influence of the President on the political course will be minimal or even inexistent. The parties also bear responsibility for this because, instead of explaining how things stand, they pleaded in time for the election of the President by the whole people in a populist and demagogical way.
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The article forms part of the IPN series “Profile of the voter: who votes the President”.