Trans-Dniester Separatists in Eastern Moldova Hold Presidential Elections

11.12.2006, International Herald Tribune. Residents in the self-proclaimed separatist republic of Trans-Dniester in eastern Moldova cast ballots Sunday in a presidential election. Igor Smirnov, an authoritarian leader who has run Trans-Dniester since 1991, is expected to easily beat three challengers to win a fourth consecutive five-year term in office. The province, a ragged ribbon of land 125 miles (200 kilometers) long by 10 miles (16 kilometers) wide with a population of 550,000, is wedged between the Dniester River and Ukraine and is dominated by aging Russian speakers and ex-Soviet military families. Smirnov, who has Russian citizenship and hails Russia as the natural home for his people, said Sunday after casting his ballot that the election confirmed "Trans-Dniester's path to independence and closer ties with Russia." Besides Smirnov, three other candidates were on the ballot, including Andrei Safonov, a journalist who is critical of Smirnov and whose bid was initially denied by the electoral commission. Businessman Piotr Tomaily, an independent, and Communist Party leader Natalia Bondarenko, a former police officer, were also on the ballot. The winner needs more than half the votes cast to secure a first-round victory. By 6 p.m. (1600 GMT), two hours before polls closed, over 59 percent of the region's 400,000 eligible voters had cast ballots, exceeding the turnout requirement for the ballot to be validated, the local electoral commission said. Moldova's Foreign Ministry has called the election in Trans-Dniester "illegal," and has asked other countries not to send international monitors. The ballot was observed, however, by dozens of Russian and Ukrainian lawmakers. Smirnov was first elected in 1991 and was easily re-elected in 1996 and 2001. Safonov, who initially backed independence in the early 1990s, has become one of the fiercest critics of Smirnov's regime and called for Trans-Dniester to form a federation with Moldova. "I hope things will change after this election and that people will vote for a better life," said Safonov. "We need an improvement."Trans-Dniester is in deep poverty, particularly in the rural areas, with the average wage of US$80 (€60). "I am very upset about what is happening. People are looking in the garbage for food. I saw someone get a cabbage from the trash, cleaned it and took it home," an elderly woman in the Lunga village said. She declined to give her name, saying she voted for the Communist candidate. Tomaily and Bondarenko have largely similar positions with Smirnov on supporting independence and close ties with Russia. In September, residents voted in favor of joining Russia, which maintains 1,500 troops in Trans-Dniester left over from the Soviet era, despite requests by Moldova to pull them out. The troops act now as a peacekeeping force after a 1992 war between Trans-Dniester and Moldova which left 1,500 people dead. Trans-Dniester's independence referendum was not recognized or monitored by international organizations, and Moldova has protested that it was organized by an undemocratic regime and under Russian occupation.Despite its traditional support for the separatists, Russia did not recognize the referendum, but said the results should be considered when working out a permanent settlement for Trans-Dniester. Russian backing for separatists in Moldova and Georgia is a thorny issue in its relations with the West, which has called on Russia to withdraw its troops from the region. www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/10/europe/EU_GEN_Moldova_Trans_Dniester_Separatists.php