Principal Government Officials of Moldova

President--Mircea Snegur Prime Minister--Andrei Sangheli Foreign Minister--Mihai Popov Ambassador to the U.S.--Nicolae Tau Ambassador to the UN--Tudor Pantiru

Location of the Moldovan Embassy in the United States

Suites 329 and 333, 1511 K Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20005 Tel: 202-783-3012 Fax: 202-783-3342

Political Conditions In Moldova

Mircea Snegur was elected president of Moldova in October 1990 by the parliament. A former Communist Party official, he endorsed independence and actively sought Western recognition. Moldova declared its independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991. However, Snegur's opposition to immediate reunification with Romania led to a split with the Moldovan Popular Front in October 1991 and to his decision to run as an independent candidate in a December 1991 presidential election. Running unopposed, he won after the Popular Front's efforts to organize a voter boycott failed.

Moldova's transition to democracy initially had been impeded by an ineffective parliament; the lack of a new constitution; a separatist movement led by the Gagauz (Christian Turkic) minority in the south; and unrest in the Trans-Dniester region, where a separatist movement-- assisted by uniformed Russian military forces in the region and led by supporters of the 1991 coup attempt in Moscow--declared a "Dniester republic."

Progress has been made on all these fronts. In 1992, the government negotiated a cease-fire arrangement with Russian and Trans-Dniestrian officials--although tensions continue--and negotiations are ongoing. In February 1994, new legislative elections were held, and the ineffective parliament that had been elected in 1990 to a five-year term was replaced. A new constitution was adopted in July 1994. The conflict with the Gagauz was settled peacefully by granting the region local autonomy in 1995.

The February 1994 parliamentary elections were conducted peacefully and received good ratings from international observers for their fairness. Authorities in the Trans- Dniester region, however, refused to allow balloting there and tried to discourage inhabitants from participating. Inhabitants of the Gagauz separatist region did participate in the elections.

Prime Minister Andrei Sangheli was re-elected to his post in March 1994, as was Petru Lucinschi to his post as speaker of the parliament. Moldova's Government was restructured somewhat with parliament's approval of a new cabinet in April 1994. The new parliament is considerably smaller than the previous one, numbering only 104 deputies. The July 1994 constitution and the law provide for freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion, though with some restrictions.

The largest political group in parliament now is the Agrarian Party, which has a plurality of 46 seats following the departure of 10 deputies in August 1995. The 10 left the ruling Agrarians to join a new party, the Party of Renewal and Conciliation, founded by President Snegur. The Socialist-Edinstvo bloc has 28 seats, while the pro-Romanian parties--the Peasants and Intellectuals Bloc and the Popular Front--have 11 and nine seats, respectively. Several other parties did not receive large enough percentages of the popular vote to gain seats.

The independence of Moldova's judiciary has increased since the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, partly due to provisions for tenure designed to increase judicial independence. A series of reforms approved in 1995 have begun to be implemented, including creation of a court to deal with constitutional issues and a system of appeals courts.

Political parties and other groups publish newspapers which often criticize government policies. There are several independent news services, radio stations, and an independent television station. Peaceful assembly is allowed, though permits for demonstrations must be obtained; private organizations, including political parties, are required to register with the government. Legislation passed in 1992 codified freedom of religion but required that religious groups be recognized by the government.

A 1990 Soviet law and a 1991 parliamentary decision authorizing formation of social organizations provide for independent trade unions. However, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Moldova, successor to the former organizations of the Soviet trade union system, is the sole structure. It has tried to influence government policy in labor issues and has been critical of many economic policies. Moldovan labor law, which is based on former Soviet legislation, provides for collective bargaining rights.

The Trans-Dniester Region

The population of the Trans-Dniester ethnic area is 40% Moldovan, 28% Ukrainian, and 23% Russian. Moldova has tried to meet the Russian minority's demands by offering the region rather broad cultural and political autonomy. The dispute has strained Moldova's relations with Russia. The July 1992 cease-fire agreement established a tripartite peacekeeping force comprised of Moldovan, Russian, and Trans- Dniestrian units. Negotiations to resolve the conflict continue, and the cease-fire is still in effect. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) also is trying to facilitate a negotiated settlement and has sent an observer mission.

Tensions continue in the region, but no serious violations of human rights have been reported in the areas controlled by the Moldovan Government. Strains over language were defused when the parliament voted in 1994 to delay until 1997 the implementation of a 1989 Moldovan law. The law would make Romanian the official language, replace the Cyrillic alphabet with the Latin one, and mean language testing. Although the law would protect the use of Russian and other languages, it has raised much skepticism, especially among Russian speakers.