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Moldova Democracy and Governance Assessment Final Report MOLDOVA MOLDOVA DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT FINAL REPORT APRIL 2010 This publication was produced for the United States Agency for International Development by Democracy International, Inc. Prepared under the Democracy and Governance Analytical Services Indefinite Quantity Contract, #DFD- I-00-04-00229-00 Submitted to: USAID/Moldova Prepared by: Sue Nelson, Team Leader Dr. Lawrence Robertson, Political Scientist Dr. Steven D. Roper, Political Scientist Caryn Wilde, Democracy and Governance Advisor, USAID/Moldova Contractor: Democracy International, Inc. 4802 Montgomery Lane Bethesda, MD 20814 Tel: 301-961-1660 www.democracyinternational.com MOLDOVA DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT FINAL REPORT APRIL 2010 DISCLAIMER The authors' views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Unit- ed States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. The report was written in February 2010 immediately following the field work. Relevant portions were updated following the March 2010 Constitutional Court decision that Parliament needed to be dissolved and new elections held. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... V EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................... 1 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ................................................. 0 1.1 ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY ................. 0 1.2 MOLDOVA BACKGROUND ......................................................... 1 2. DEFINING THE DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE PROBLEM ......... 5 2.1 CONSENSUS .............................................................................. 5 2.2 INCLUSION ................................................................................. 6 2.3 COMPETITION ............................................................................ 8 2.4 RULE OF LAW ............................................................................. 9 2.5 GOOD GOVERNANCE ...............................................................10 3. ACTORS AND ARENAS .......................................................................13 3.1 THE LEGAL ARENA ...................................................................14 3.2 JUDICIAL SPHERE ....................................................................15 3.3 COMPETITIVE ARENA ..............................................................18 3.4 GOVERNANCE ARENA .............................................................21 3.5 CORRUPTION ............................................................................27 3.6 CIVIL SOCIETY ARENA .............................................................27 3.7 THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY .........................................31 4. RECOMMENDATIONS ..........................................................................34 4.1 STRATEGIC FOCUS ..................................................................34 4.2 PROGRAMMATIC PRIORITIES .................................................35 APPENDIX 1: SCOPE OF WORK FOR DG STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT ........39 APPENDIX 2: METHODOLOGY .......................................................................41 APPENDIX 3: DONOR MATRIX ........................................................................43 APPENDIX 4: PERSONS MET ..........................................................................50 APPENDIX 5: REFERENCES ...........................................................................56 MOLDOVA DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT i ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ADR Alliance for Democratic Reform AIE Alliance for European Integration or Coalition AMN Our Moldova Alliance APEL Association of Electronic Press AVC Audio Visual Council CCECC Center for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption CEC Central Electoral Commission CIS Commonwealth of Independent States CSO Civil Society Organization DCHA/DG USAID Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, Office of De- mocracy and Governance DG Democracy and Governance EC European Commission ECHR European Court of Human Rights ENP European Neighborhood Policy EU European Union EUBAM European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine FDI Foreign Direct Investment FP Popular Front GDP Gross Domestic Product GOM Government of Moldova ICT Information Communications Technology IMF International Monetary Fund INL International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau (DOS) IPP Institute for Public Policy LP Liberal Party LPA Local Public Authorities MASSR Moldovan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic MCC Millennium Challenge Corporation MOLDOVA DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT iii MCC TCP Millennium Challenge Corporation Threshold Country Program MOF Ministry of Finance MOJ Ministry of Justice MP Members of Parliament MSSR Moldovian Soviet Socialist Republic NIJ National Institute of Justice NGO Non-Governmental Organization NGOSI NGO Sustainability Index NORLAM Norwegian Rule of Law Mission ODIHR Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe PCRM Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova PDAM Agrarian Democratic Party of Moldova PGO Prosecutor General’s Office PDM Democratic Party of Moldova PLDM Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova PM Prime Minister PRI Prosecutorial Reform Index ROL Rule of Law SCM Superior Council of Magistrates TRM Teleradio Moldova UNDP United Nations Development Programme U.S. United States USAID United States Agency for International Development USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics VL Voter Lists MOLDOVA DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Assessment Team would like to thank the USAID Mission in Moldova, its Partners, and the Moldo- van people for their generous offer of time and support throughout the implementation of the Democracy and Governance Assessment. In particular, we would like to acknowledge the contribution of the USAID Staff, who shared their valuable insight on the many complex situations in Moldova. A special thank you is extended to Diana Cazacu, Project Management Specialist, for her efficient facilitation and coordina- tion of our numerous meetings and unexpected complications. MOLDOVA DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Compared to other post-Soviet states, Moldova has developed relatively robust democratic institutions and practices since its independence in 1991. It has had regular elections and the rotation of power among parties. At the same time, it still suffers from legacies of overly centralized systems and excessive execu- tive control. Its political parties are highly personalistic and polarized, and manipulate the rules of the game for their own political and economic ends. Its society is divided, lacks trust in state institutions and is disillusioned with democracy as it is played out in Moldova. Snap parliamentary elections in July 2009 brought a pro-European governing coalition into power with a reform agenda. But the new coalition’s inability to elect a president means new elections will be required, which limits its tenure and reduces its ability to effect meaningful change. Public support for reform could also be lost with the tough economic times. Success in these reform efforts must be visible in the near term to avoid democratic backsliding, and continued international assistance will be necessary. BACKGROUND Moldova is divided between east and west. It borders the European Union (EU) and most of its popula- tion shares roots with Romania and favors European integration. Others, particularly ethnic minorities, have linguistic and other ties with Russia. It is the poorest country in Europe and has been hard hit by the global economic crisis. It has limited economic development opportunities and an estimated 40 percent of its work-age population is working abroad. It has a frozen conflict in its Transnistrian region along the Ukraine border, which remains a major constraint to Moldova’s development, with Russia providing both political and military support to the secessionist regime. From 2001 to 2009, the Party of the Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) was in power un- der President Voronin. This was an increasingly authoritarian regime characterized by the concentration of power within the executive branch, constrained competition, and growing apathy of Moldovan citizens. Elections in April 2009 brought a PCRM majority back into parliament, but they did not have the votes to elect the president, and new elections were held in July 2009. These elections brought a coalition gov- ernment into power (the Alliance for European Integration - AIE or Coalition), but it too was unable to garner enough votes to elect the president. At the time of the assessment in January and February 2010, the big question was if and when parliament would be dissolved or if the constitution would be amended to change the way the president was elected. The Constitutional Court subsequently ruled in March that parliament must be dissolved if it had not elected a president and that parliament could only be dissolved once a year, which extended the AIE’s mandate until at least June 2010. THE DG PROBLEM Moldova has problems in all five elements of democracy and governance identified in the Democracy and Governance Framework -- consensus, rule of law, competition, inclusion, and governance.
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