The citizens and parties in the Republic of Moldova should neither underestimate nor absolutize the results of opinion polls. In the Republic of Moldova, the opportunity of snap parliamentary elections became incontestable - the faster are these elections held, the better will it be for society and some of the functionaries will start work then, Victor Juc, director of the Institute of Legal, Political and Sociological Research, stated in IPN’s public debate “Polls and snap elections, electorate and change”.
According to Victor Juc, the opinions of some of the political players change depending on the results of sociological surveys. In the case of snap parliamentary elections, the Ukrainian or French model could be followed and the electors will massively vote for the President’s party, even though Ukraine and France have semi-presidential systems of government.
“Some of the parties in the Republic of Moldova changed their opinion about snap elections for fear they will be unable to enter the new legislative body. Also, the Democratic Party will show to public opinion that Vlad Plahotniuc no longer has influence on this political party,” stated the director of the Institute of Legal, Political and Sociological Research.
According to Victor Juc, if the parliamentary parties decide that the snap elections will be held in June or July this year, only 40%-50% of the people will go to the polls. The young people will most probably not go to vote as they consider the elections will not lead to improvements.
The expert also said that even if everyone in Moldova speaks about the necessity of bringing about changes, the political parties propose the same development platforms, if only the foreign course is different. “Society in the Republic of Moldova is considerably fragmented and the rural areas lose ground to the urban areas. Many intend to go abroad. The citizens with Romanian passports will head for the West, while those with Moldovan passports will head for the East. The sympathies for a particular party derive from here,” stated Victor Juc.
“In the 1990s, the elections were won by pro-European parties, as were the elections of 2009, but the situation in the Republic of Moldova didn’t improve significantly. The parties should take into account the results of sociological surveys.”
The public debate “Polls and snap elections, electorate and change” is the 175th installment of the project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is implemented by IPN News Agency. The project is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
