Expert says voters do not bet on the party behind the candidate anymore

The local elections held in the capital city and the clear victory of the Liberal Party’s candidate, Dorin Chirtoaca, prove the fact that the voters do not bet on the party behind the candidate, but on the candidate who is able to communicate with them, who can articulate and promote ideas and opinions, make himself a political reputation, doctor of political sciences Ala Rosca says. As the cited source told Info-Prim Neo, the 2007 local elections proved that the level of political culture of the citizens has changed. Rosca affirms that the population in Moldova is increasingly engaging in the democratisation exercise, so the process of communication between the population and politicians plays a very important role. In the case of Veaceslav Iordan, the political communication lacked, he didn’t attend discussions or televised debates, he did not answer to the questions of the electors, so he did not get involved in the democratic process called elections, - and the influence of the party that stood behind him wasn’t enough to persuade the electors. This was the decisive element that determined Dorin Chirtoaca’s victory and the defeat of Veaceslav Iordan, Ala Rosca said. In her words, Iordan was voted by the traditional segment of the Communist Party’s electorate, but he was not able to mobilise the irresolute ones because he did not use the means necessary in an election campaign – the ability to communicate, attending at public debates, the direct dialogue with the electors, the dexterity to display his programme and priorities. In the opinion of the expert, the biggest omission of Iordan was the failure to appear in front of the cameras, in the press in general, and the fact that he relied exclusively on the image of the Communist Party. 82,653 votes, or 38.83%, were given to the Communist Party’s candidate, Veacaslav Iordan, in the Chisinau mayoral race, while the candidate of the Liberal Party, Dorin Chirtoaca, got 130,181 votes, or 61.17%. This way, Chirtoaca has become the second elected mayor general since Moldova’s independence. Between him and his predecessor Serafim Urecheanu, Chisinau was headed by a number of interim mayors: Vasile Ursu, Veaceslav Iordan, Petru Svet, Nicolaie Manastarli.