General Information on the 2001 Early Parliamentary Elections

Date of elections	February 25, 2001
Type of elections	Early Parliamentary Elections
Electoral threshold for
political parties	6%
electoral blocks	6%
independent candidates	3%
Voter turnout to validate election »»» Voter turnout to validate election (correlated with the number of voters included in voter rolls)	1/2
Number of electoral contestants
political parties	12
electoral blocks	5
independent candidates	10
Voter turnout »»» Voter turnout (% of number of voters included in voter rolls)	67.52%
Seats distribution
PCRM	71
BeAB	19
PPCD	11

Early parliamentary elections of February 25, 2001 were held after the Parliament failed to elect the chief of state in December 2000. The Parliament gained the right to elect a chief of state on July 5, 2000, after the constitutional provision on the election of the chief of state by public vote was amended. The February 25, 2001 elections to the Parliament was the second early parliamentary elections in the brief history of Moldova and the 3rd electoral competition for Parliament since the Republic of Moldova declared its independence. Parliamentary elections were held under a proportional system, whereby the whole country forms one constituency that elected 101 members of Parliament. The period of electoral campaign was short due to limited time frame.

The main amendments to the electoral legislation by the February 25, 2001 elections:

The term “early elections” was introduced to the Electoral Code, as regarding the early termination or dissolution of Parliament (other elective body). Early elections will take place no later than 45 days from the effective date of the decree on Parliament’s dissolution;
The electoral threshold for parties and electoral blocs was raised from 4% to 6% and for independent candidates — reduced from 4% to 3% of the valid votes cast in the whole country;
It was introduced the possibility for accreditation of observers to monitor the elections in polling stations set up outside Moldova.
It was established that electoral agitation is allowed only after the electoral contestants are registered with an electoral body;
Electoral advertising by foreign broadcasters which air their programs in Moldova, as well as by broadcasters launched as joint ventures in accordance with law was banned. Electoral advertising in foreign newspapers and their supplements which circulate in the country is also banned;
It was introduced the requirement for the public broadcasting institutions to grant candidates free airtime for public debate, within the limits on electoral advertising set by the CEC and give each electoral candidate not more than 2 hours of paid air time throughout the campaign, including no more than two minutes per day;
A special stamp “Votat” (Voted) for voting procedure was introduced instead of the cross mark in pen;
Before placing the ballot in the ballot box, a special stamp of the electoral bureau of the polling station is applied on the back of the ballot;
It was set the deadline for lodging complains — three days after the date of action or the date of decision, as well as the time frame for appeals (three days after submission / receipt of the file);
It was established the administrative responsibility for conducting electoral agitation on the day before the Election Day;
It was set the maximum number of signatures on the subscription lists for an independent candidate — 2500.

For the February 25, 2001 elections there were created 12 electoral constituencies within the boundaries of the second tier administrative-territorial units, 1962 polling stations, out of which 1942 within the country and 20 in the diplomatic and consular missions of the Republic of Moldova abroad. 12 political parties, 5 electoral blocs and 10 independent candidates run for Parliament.

The voter turnout was 67.52% and only three contestants — PCRM, BeAB and PPCD passed the electoral threshold. None of the independent candidates got 3% of the valid cast votes to enter the Parliament. PCRM gained 794,808 votes (50.07%), BeAB — 212,071 votes (13.36%) and PPCD — 130,810 votes (8.24%). Respectively, under the d’Hondt formula, the 101 deputy seats were distributed as follows:

Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova — 71 seats;
“Braghis Alliance” Electoral Bloc — 19 seats;
Christian Democratic People’s Party — 11 seats.

According to international observers the February 25, 2001 early parliamentary elections were conducted in accordance with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections. It was also observed an improvement of the electoral legal framework and the electoral process as compared to previous elections. Local observers shared the findings of international observers.

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General Information on the 2001 Early Parliamentary Elections

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