The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (Partidul Comuniştilor din Republica Moldova) is a communist political party in Moldova, led by Vladimir Voronin. It was the only communist party to have been democratically holding a majority in government in the former Soviet Union.

It is part of the Party of the European Left.

Activity

It is the current opposition political party in Moldova. After the July 2009 parliamentary election, Alliance For European Integration has agreed to create a governing coalition that pushed the Communist party into opposition.

History

The PCRM was registered as a political party in 1994. The PCRM was part of the Popular Patriotic Forces Front at the time of the 1996 presidential election, in which Voronin stood as the coalition's candidate and won 10.3% of the vote, placing third. The party supported Petru Lucinschi in the second round of the election, and following Lucinschi's victory the PCRM was given two positions in the government.

1998 election

In the March 1998 parliamentary election, the PCRM won 30.1% of the vote and 40 seats, becoming the largest party in parliament; in its platform, it called for "the rebirth of a socialist society". Despite its strong showing, the PCRM was left in opposition due to the formation of a center-right coalition government, Alliance for Democracy and Reforms. Although Lucinschi later nominated Voronin as Prime Minister of Moldova in late 1999, the nomination was unsuccessful because Voronin did not have enough support in parliament. Subsequently the PCRM received 49.9% of the vote in the February 2001 parliamentary election, winning 71 out of the 101 seats in parliament.

2001 election

With a PCRM parliamentary majority, Voronin was elected as President by parliament in April 2001. The Constitutional Court ruled that the President could also lead a political party, and Voronin was re-elected as party leader.

2005 election

It was the ruling political party in Moldova. It won the Moldovan parliamentary election, 2005, and provided the President, Vladimir Voronin, the Prime Minister, Zinaida Greceanîi, and the Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, Marian Lupu. Under Voronin, it privatized several state-owned industries and governed in a multi-party fashion. It also favors European integration and eventual EU membership.

2009 elections

After April 2009 election and the civil unrest, the climate in Moldova became very polarized. The parliament failed to elect a new president. For this reason, the parliament was dissolved and snap elections were held. At the July 29 polls the Communist Party received 44.7% of the vote. That gave the former ruling party 48 MPs, and the remaining 53 seats in the 101-member chamber went to four opposition parties, Alliance For European Integration.

Ideology

While officially branding a Leninist Communist doctrine, there is a matter of debate over their policies. The Economist considers it a centre-right party, communist only in name, Romanian political scientist Vladimir Tismăneanu argues that the party is communist in the classical sense, as it didn't change much since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Last proposed electoral program

For the current period of governance, the PCRM has outlined the following goals for the country:

• A new quality of life;
• Economic modernization;
• European integration;
• Consolidation of the society.

The whole electoral program can be read on the official site of PCRM.

Electoral results

Results since 1998 (year links to election page)
Polls	Type of Election	Votes	%	MPs
1998	Parliament	487,002	30.01	40
2001	Parliament	794,808	50.07	71
2005	Parliament	716,336	45.98	56
2009	Parliament	760,551	49.48	60
2009	Parliament	704,876	45.07	48

References

1. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) won two parliamentary elections in the 1990s by receiving a plurality (but notably not a majority) of seats in the Duma, however since Russia is a Presidential Republic (and Boris Yeltsin was President at the time), the CPRF was unable to form a government. The Communist Party of South Ossetia, which was de facto independent at the time, won a majority of seats in the 1994 election.
2. Political Parties of the World (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, page 414.
3. The New York Times, A Polarized Moldova Votes, Mindful of West and Russia, July 29, 2009
4. Protests in Moldova and Georgia: Street scenes, The Economist, April 16, 2009
5. "Moldova's Revolution Against Cynical And Cronyist Authoritarianism", RFE/RL, April 13, 2009

External links

• PCRM - Official site