The results of the November 30 elections indicate a high level of polarization within society, with people voting for opposite geopolitical options. The opinions were voiced on Monday, December 15, during the final session of the National Convention for European Integration on the topic “Moldova's European vector: challenges and prospects after the elections on November 30”, IPN reports.
Pirkka Tapiola, head of the EU Delegation to Moldova, said that the parliamentary elections showed the society was highly polarized and not only because of the geopolitical factor. According to him, society is also divided on linguistic or ethnic criteria and it needs policies that would increase social cohesion and involve all the segments of the population. The diplomat also noted that there was some external pressure and that the ethnic polarization was employed for political goals.
Pirkka Tapiola pointed out Moldova's need for a strategy oriented towards national minorities and communication tools to develop a friendly and peaceful atmosphere. The ambassador said that although some progress has been achieved, there is still a lot of work to be done in order to make the process of European integration irreversible. The official added that the reform of justice and the fight against corruption should be the main tasks of the government on Moldova's European path.
Outgoing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Iulian Groza, said the result of the elections was a shock and Moldova could learn from this unprecedented situation. “The plan to lure Moldovan voters into this trap of political elections succeeded even though we tried to avoid the geopolitical debate and focus on the agenda of reforms. However, the ballot on November 30 was crucial and it was, in the end, a geopolitical one”, said the acting deputy minister.
Iulian Groza agreed that while the election outcome does indicate a polarized society, the people's vote for European integration shows a victory of this option. “The result of the ballot offers Moldova a new chance to apply those ideas that worked in European countries, which succeeded because they set this goal and didn't deviate from it”, said Groza. The outgoing official expressed his hope that this was the last time people cast a geopolitical vote.
Arcadie Barbarosie, director of the Institute of Public Policies, agreed that the recent elections were geopolitical and warned that if the new government doesn't deal with the major problems in the country, the next elections could be geopolitical as well. He remarked that the three parties negotiating on a pro-European coalition lost together about 150,000-160,000 votes and these votes were lost not only because of the geopolitical option, but because the governing parties failed to keep the promises they made during the previous elections in 2010.
After the ballot on November 30, 2014, PSRM obtained 20.51% of votes (25 MP seats), PLDM – 20.16% (23 seats), PCRM – 17.48% (21 seats), PDM – 15.80% (19 seats) and PL – 9.67% (13 seats).
