The pro-European parties can conclude a nonaggression pact for the period of the election campaign so as to facilitate the formation of a post-electoral coalition. At the same time, a civilized campaign requires the active involvement of civil society. The motivation of the disappointed people to go to the polls will be the major stake of these elections. Such opinions were stated in the debate “Why does the electoral behavior of the Coalition count for the country’s European future?” that was held by IPN News Agency.
According to the director of the Association for Participatory Democracy Igor Botan, who is the project’s permanent expert, the behavior of the parties indeed leaves much to be desired, but it depends not only on the political players, but also on the political culture of society. “Opinion polls reveal oscillations in the ratings of political parties and the main players, which are yet within limits. It is worrisome that the progress as regards the relations between the parties wasn’t spectacular, but, if considering the general culture of our people, it couldn’t be as such,” stated Igor Botan.
The leader of the Liberal Democrat Party of Moldova Vlad Filat noted that he supports the idea of a non-aggression pact between the pro-Western parties, saying he will propose such an accord to the colleagues from the pro-European coalition. “I think such a pact is necessary. We must look further than the elections. Even if some do not have great wish, there must be communication and negotiation for forming a government coalition,” he stated.
The former Premier reminded that not only the political parties are responsible for the way the elections takes place and for their results. “To have a government that will ensure the continuity and, very important, the irreversibility of the European integration process, we need a result in elections and the behavior of the parties is decisive. However, according to my experience, the quality of the political process depends not only on the politicians and parties. In every democratic society, it also depends a lot on the involvement of the other components of society so that efficient control over governance is ensured. I refer to civil society, the media and the interaction between the political class and the NGO sector,” he said.
In this connection, he approved of the development of Moldovan civil society. “I want to tell you that compared with other countries of the region, we have powerful civil society that is to be more influential in the coming period. In this respect, we have not only the provisions of the Association Agreement, but also the massive involvement of our development partners,” stated Vlad Filat.
He also said that Moldova has one of the longest election periods in the region. “It is important in the election campaign to convince the people to take part in the elections. The motivation of the people to go to the polls will be the main challenge in this campaign. If the Moldovan voters take part in the elections in a large number, the European future will be ensured,” he concluded.
The leaders of the other two parties of the Pro-European Coalition – the Democratic Party of Moldova and the Liberal Reformist Party – were also invited to the debate “Why does the electoral behavior of the Coalition count for the country’s European future?”
The debate of September 26 is the 33rd of the series of public debates “Development of political culture in public debates”. IPN Agency has conducted these debates the third year with the support of the Hanns Seidel Foundation and in cooperation with Radio Moldova.
