Buteni villagers finally elect mayor
After nine months of failed attempts, on Sunday, March 2, the mayoralty elections in the village of Buteni, Hancesti district, took place. The same day the Buteni villagers elected a new local council, and the village of Tareuca elected its mayor.
Sources from the Central Electoral Commission have told Info-Prim Neo most of the votes were cast for the candidate of the Moldova Noastra Alliance (AMN) Tudor Agaci – 1030 in Buteni. His opponent, Communist Alexei Eremia got 929 votes. The AMN candidates got 1019 ballots for the local council, while the Communists Party – 930. The turnout was over 76%.
In the village of Tareuca, Rezina district, a second round is to be announced, as none of the eight candidates got the needed majority of votes in the first round. The second round will be disputed by the Communist candidate Ruslan Socol and Ghenadie Lefter representing the Christian-Democrat Popular Party.
According to the CEC, no grave breaches in the voting process were recorded in both localities.
The Buteni mayor could not be elected in the general local elections of June 3, 2007, neither in the repeated poll of June 17, because the results were declared invalid. Excluding the AMN candidate, Anatolie Postolache, from the race and announcing repeated elections triggered the inhabitants’ protests, who blocked the unfolding of the ballot two times. Meanwhile also the local council elected in June dissolved, as the councilors never gathered for a sitting.
More experts have qualified the behavior of the Buteni villagers as a new phenomenon telling of increasing political activity of the Moldovan voters.