Transnistria - Politics

Politics

PMR has a multi-party system and a unicameral parliament named the Supreme Council. Its legislature has 43 members elected by Single-member district plurality. The president is elected to a five year term by popular vote.

Igor Smirnov was the President of Transnistria since the declaration of independence in 1990 for four consecutive terms. He ran for president in 2011 also, but was defeated in the first round.

The majority in the Parliament of Transnistria belongs to the Renewal movement which defeated the Republic party affiliated with Igor Smirnov in 2005 and performed even better in 2010 elections. Its leader, Yevgeni Shevchuk, won the 2011 presidential elections.

There is disagreement over whether elections in Transnistria are free and fair. The political regime has been described as one of 'super-presidentialism'. In the latest presidential election, the registration of opposition candidate Andrey Safonov was delayed until a few days before the vote, so that he had little time to conduct an election campaign. Some sources consider election results suspicious. In 2001, in one region it was reported that Igor Smirnov collected 103.6% of the votes. The PMR government said 'the government of Moldova launched a campaign aimed at convincing international observers not to attend' an election held on 11 December 2005 – but CIS election monitors had ignored that and had declared the ballot democratic.

The opposition Narodovlastie party and Power to the People movement were outlawed at the beginning of 2000 and eventually dissolved.

A list published by the European Union bans travel to the EU for some members of the Transnistrian leadership.

In 2007, the registration of a Social Democratic Party was allowed. This party, led by former separatist leader and member of the PMR government Andrey Safonov, allegedly favors a union with Moldova.

In September 2007, the leader of the Transnistrian Communist Party, Oleg Horjan, was sentenced to a suspended sentence of 1½ years imprisonment for organizing unsanctioned actions of protest.

According to the 2006 referendum, carried out by the PMR government, 97.2% of the population voted in favor of "independence from Moldova and free association with Russia." EU and several other countries refused to recognise the referendum results.