Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08CHISINAU1034
2008-10-14 15:12:00
SECRET
Embassy Chisinau
Cable title:  

SPEAKER LUPU DEFENDS ELECTION LAW

Tags:  PGOV KDEM PBTS RS MD 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5417
RR RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHCH #1034/01 2881512
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 141512Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY CHISINAU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7213
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CHISINAU 001034 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UMB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/14/2018
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PBTS RS MD
SUBJECT: SPEAKER LUPU DEFENDS ELECTION LAW
PROVISIONS

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Kelly A.
Keiderling for reasons 1.4(b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CHISINAU 001034

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UMB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/14/2018
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PBTS RS MD
SUBJECT: SPEAKER LUPU DEFENDS ELECTION LAW
PROVISIONS

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Kelly A.
Keiderling for reasons 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: In his first official meeting
with the Ambassador on October 6, Parliamentary
Speaker Marian Lupu said he expected that the
upcoming (and last) session of the Parliament
would review economic legislation and monitor
implementation of judicial reform, but would
leave the January 2008 modifications of the
electoral law untouched. Lupu defended that
law's decisions on raising the parliamentary
threshold from 4 to 6 percent, not permitting
dual citizenship and on not permitting electoral
blocs. The date for the 2009 elections had not
yet been set, but would likely take place in
March or April unless there was significant
progress immediately in the Transnistrian
settlement process. (As the President's mandate
would expire in April, any extension of the
Parliament until June would be complicated by the
lack of an appropriate law permitting extension
of a President's term.) Lupu reiterated his
earlier promise that Moldova would not sign the
Rome Treaty until it had concluded a bilateral
Article 98 agreement with the U.S. End summary.

Pre-electoral Parliamentary Work
--------------


2. (C) Lupu explained that this session would be
the last of the legislative body. Lupu said he
had the responsibility of keeping the Parliament
focused on its legislative agenda, without
allowing the body to become dysfunctional and
bogged down in pre-electoral political debates.
The Parliament needed to adopt the state budget
for next year, monitor the implementation of
judicial-reform laws, and assess the results of
the Guillotine Act, which had made "impressive"
amendments to some 100 laws to create an improved
investment climate.

Parliament Unlikely to Modify Election Law Again
-------------- ---


3. (C) The Parliament had introduced amendments
to the election law in January 2008 and was
unlikely to make any further amendments, Lupu
said, as under Moldovan law no major changes were
permitted within six months of the elections.
The last amendments were sent to the Venice
Commission for expert commentary, and Lupu said

he was expecting a reply in October or November.
A problem would arise he said, if the Commission
were to make significant recommendations too
close to the electoral deadline.


4. (C) Lupu defended the Parliament's often-
criticized decision to raise the threshold for
obtaining parliamentary seats from four to six
percent of votes. Moldova's previous electoral
experience had shown that parties that
successfully won seats in the Parliament
generally received more than seven percent of the
ballot, while those that failed got less than
four percent. Thus, argued Lupu, the higher
threshold was unlikely to have any practical
impact on the electoral outcome.


5. (C) Another controversial item in the January
2008 electoral amendments was the provision
banning dual citizenship, which Lupu suggested
posed no problem. The law placed no restrictions
upon the ability of citizens to participate in
elections or run as candidates, he said.
Instead, it required only that, if elected,
someone with dual citizenship should publicly
declare that he had made a formal written request
to the other country, asking to renounce his
second citizenship. Lupu noted that no legal
requirement existed for the other country to take
any action. When drafting the law,
parliamentarians expected that "certain" other
countries would indeed take no action.
Renunciation need not be done before running for
office, clarified Lupu, only if elected.


6. (C) Lupu said he had supported the decision
that the electoral law not permit parties to run

CHISINAU 00001034 002 OF 003


in pre-electoral blocs during the elections.
Moldova had
too many small, weak parties. Society needed
greater commitment and continuity. In the past
fifteen years, he argued, small parties had not
managed to either organize themselves
successfully or merge with others to create
stable political parties. It was appropriate to
have a legal framework to encourage the process
of party consolidation. Since adoption of the
January 2008 requirement, he noted, some parties
had indeed merged to create bigger, more serious
parties. Ideally, he opined, Moldova should have
four, five or six parties, all with real
professional potential.

Problems in Setting Election Date
--------------


7. (C) Lupu noted that the Parliament had not yet
discussed the date for elections. The date would
largely depend upon the Transnistrian
negotiations. If discussions progressed to a
point where there was a real possibility of a
settlement, it would make sense to extend the
mandate of the Parliament in order to allow the
current body to debate and adopt the necessary
laws deriving from a settlement. If, on the
other hand, the Transnistria talks were not
promising, it would be better to set the
elections for March or April and leave the task
of a settlement to the next government.


8. (C) While Moldovan law provided for the
possibility of extending the term of the
Parliament for up to 90 days after its expiration
on March 15 (i.e., until June 15),Lupu noted
that a contradiction existed with respect to
legislation concerning the term of the President.
As the President was elected in April, his
mandate would expire that month, with no legal
provision for the extension of his mandate.
Expiration of the presidential mandate in April
would complicate any attempt to prolong the
Parliament's activities until June. Lupu somewhat
pessimistically expressed his doubts that
Transnistrian talks would make significant
progress in the coming months. He thought
elections would most likely take place in March
or April.

Perceptions of Fair Elections are Important
--------------


9. (C) The Ambassador stressed the importance of
perceptions that the electoral process was
carried out properly. Freedom of the press and
access to the media would be watched closely, he
said, noting that there have been some problems,
such as with Pro TV and Sun Communications.


10. (C) In discussing the name "Party of
Communists," Lupu said that earlier he had
favored changing the party's name. Now, before
the elections, it was too late to change the
"brand name." Lupu believed that after the
elections, renaming the party could be addressed.

Russian Position on Transnistria Not Unified
--------------


11. (C) Lupu said that he believed Tiraspol was
carrying out orders coming from Moscow, but that
Transnistria did not appear to be doing so 100
percent. However, he noted, the Russian position
itself was not unified; there were distinct
voices with different views. Lupu said he did
not rule out the possibility that Moscow was
merely playing a game, acting as if it were
making efforts, but avoiding any progress.


12. (C) Lupu said that a Tansnistria settlement
should lead to a well-functioning unified state,
not to a dysfunctional rigid political system
that could be paralyzed at any time. The final
document should focus on the delineation of
powers and functions, rather than on whether the
resulting state was to be called a federation or
a confederation, Lupu added.


CHISINAU 00001034 003 OF 003


Lupu Reiterates Rome Treaty/Article 98 Promise
-------------- -


13. (C) The parliamentary speaker reiterated to
Ambassador Chaudhry the promise he had made
earlier to Ambassador Kirby, that Moldova's
Parliament would not ratify the Rome Treaty until
a bilateral Article 98 agreement was signed with
the United States. That was why Parliament had
sat on the Rome Treaty for a year, and not voted
on it, Lupu explained. The Europeans were
pressing Parliament to sign the Rome Treaty, but
Lupu said he would abide by his commitment to the
Embassy.

Comment
--------------


14. (C) The parliamentary speaker has often been
suggested as a possible successor to Voronin. He
is relatively young and reform-minded and is
generally viewed as a smart and efficient
technocrat. He is quite personable, and has
genuine public charisma. Opposition parties like
the moderate and reasonable Lupu and could live
with him as the President, despite his membership
in the Party of Communists. However, the keys to
the presidential nomination are in President
Voronin's hands, and the two have a rocky
relationship. Earlier this year rumors surfaced
that President Voronin wanted to remove Lupu from
the Speaker's position. Lupu calculated then that
he had the two-thirds majority needed to stay in
his position. The competition with Voronin died
down, and Lupu remained within the Party of
Communists.

KEIDERLING