Where is Moldova, anyway?

This past month Moldova held local elections. While Peace Corps makes sure that we, the volunteers, stay as far away from this process as possible, as to maintain political neutrality, it was still an interesting event to observe, from my point of view.

Elections were held June 3^rd, a Sunday. About a month before the elections, campaign “posters” started popping up on bill boards around town. Closer to the election cars and stores started posting these advertisements as well. Each town had to elect a mayor; and with the election of the mayor’s party, you are electing, to my understanding, the vice mayor and all the councilmen. It’s a package deal. The week before the election people started going door to door telling us about their candidate of choice. I enjoyed listening to the comments my neighbors would make after the canvassers left. Mainly, thoughts about how much money was “wasted” in printing campaign materials (one sheeted papers). If only they knew how much money was “wasted” in America on campaigns… they might die of shock. While I saw many posters advertising specific candidates, there didn’t seem to be a “go out and vote” vibe, that exists before many of our elections.

My host mother was selected to serve on the election committee—I believe out of a pool of registered voters. Therefore on election day she was one of the people checking in voters and helping them vote. She was at the polls from 8am Sunday morning to 5am Monday morning, from 9pm Sunday to 5am Monday morning she was counting votes, with 4 other committee members, by hand. What a task! Oiii!

The final results in my town was our current mayor got reelected by a margin of 62 percent. 62 percent! Apparently, here, people don’t have qualms with the communist party. And according to our Mayor’s office, 54 percent of my town’s population voted. That’s amazing results in my opinion, especially when we compare them with our lazy voters at home. I guess when a democracy is young, it can swing either way—either people have a lot of faith in the system and ALWAYS vote, or think that it is in vain, and never vote. I’m interested to see how this will play out in the national elections in two years, and as Moldova gains more experience as a democracy.

A tidbit into the minds of voters here—an organization supporting democracy and democratic means tried to conduct an exit poll in one of Moldova’s larger cities (I am using the word city loosely). The poll was highly unsuccessful because the voters claimed that the pollers had no authority to know who they voted for; which is true. But rather than trust that the process is important for research, many perceive the gathering of information with a cautious eye.

To end this little election blurb, I was speaking with some of my friends in my village who are not thrilled with the outcome of the election. They said, what can we do to change anything? None of our friends bothered to vote. It was only the little old ladies with their canes who voted. And their voice is louder than ours.

Sound familiar at all?

This entry was posted on Monday, June 11, 2007 at 3:21 PM.