A double referendum was held in

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

on 17 September 2006. Voters were asked whether they approved of the possibility of renouncing independence and integration with

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, or alternatively independence and a possible future integration into the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The results of the referendum were not recognized internationally.

Background

Pro-

n organisations announced before the referendum that they would not recognise its results. Ballots for the referendum were reprinted three times, as the chairman of electoral commission, Piotr Denisenko, announced a shrinkage of electorate of 7% compared with the previous year.

Results

Transnistrian 2006 independence referendum voting card

Renouncing independence and potential future integration into Moldova

Independence and potential future integration into Russia

Of the total of 394,861 registered voters, the

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...

was 78.6%, substantially more than the 50%+1 required by law to validate the referendum. On the day of the

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

, no

exit poll An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll. Pollsters – usually private companies working fo ...

ing was allowed within 25 meters of polling stations, to prevent disruption of voting.

Reactions

International organisations, such as the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

GUAM Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

, and some other countries (

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

) did not recognise the referendum. The representative of the

Congress of Russian Communities The Congress of Russian Communities (CRC, ) is a political organization in Russia. It was created in the early 1990s initially to promote the rights of ethnic Russians living in the newly independent countries of the former Soviet Union. Th ...

from Moldova declared that the referendum was held according to international standards. However, no internationally recognised monitoring organisations had observers present.

Viktor Alksnis Viktor Imantovich Alksnis (, ; 21 June 1950 – 1 January 2025) was a Russian politician and Soviet Air Force colonel of Latvian descent. He was the chairman of the Russian Center of Free Technologies, an organization intended to promote Free ...

, a deputy from the Russian party " Rodina" stated that referendum in Transnistria was held without any violations of legislation and democratic standards. Viktor Alksnis is known to have previously described the Transnistrian Republic as the base from which the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

's restoration would begin. In the opinion of the Ukrainian foreign ministry, the situation in Transnistria failed to meet the conditions of a free will expression by citizens. According to the OSCE, the media climate in the Transdniestrian region is restrictive, as authorities there continue a long-standing campaign to silence independent opposition voices and movements. Although the OSCE decided not to send any observers to monitor the referendum, 130 observers from CIS and Europe and from eleven election monitoring organizations who did attend the referendum had different reactions. In contrast, the

Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Helsinki Committees for Human Rights exist in many European countries (and in the wider OSCE region) as volunteer, non-profit organizations devoted to the protection of human rights. It was presumably named after the Helsinki Accords. It was for ...

(HCHRM) claims to have observed a series of infringements at the referendum: # Groups of

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

s going into people's homes, especially in

Tiraspol Tiraspol (, ; also /; , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Transnistria, a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the third-largest city. The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River. Tiraspol is a regional hub of cul ...

and Bender districts, asking why they did not come to the referendum, and threatening that after the referendum they will be forced to look for a new home in Romania. # At some voting stations agents dressed in civil or militia uniforms forcing the observers from outside the sections to stay at a distance of 200–250 meters far from these places. # "Cleaning" of the list of voters by excluding some citizens who previously boycotted elections and referendums held in Transnistria. # "Electoral tourism" and multiple voting

Karel De Gucht Karel Lodewijk Georgette Emmerence De Gucht (; born 27 January 1954) is a Belgian politician who was the European Commissioner for Trade from February 2010 until 31 October 2014.response bias Response bias is a general term for a wide range of tendencies for participants to respond inaccurately or falsely to questions. These biases are prevalent in research involving participant self-report, such as structured interviews or surveys. R ...

. Victor Josu, deputy

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of Russian-language Moldovan newspaper '' Moldavskiye Vedomosti'', an accredited observer, described the referendum as a successful

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

action (regardless of violations and a lack of recognition) and reported favorably on a comparison between "recognized Chişinau" and "unrecognized Tiraspol" in an article which emphasized the openness, transparency and

glasnost ''Glasnost'' ( ; , ) is a concept relating to openness and transparency. It has several general and specific meanings, including a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information and the inadmissi ...

of the referendum process. Sergei Bagapsh, president of

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

(Abkhazia claims independence from Georgia, but has a disputed status), has said his republic "supports the aspirations of Transniestria toward independence and its choice of unification with Russia." According to the results of a telephone survey on the morning of September 18, 63% of the listeners (782 people) of the Ekho Moskvy radio station were in favor of accepting Transnistria into Russia, while 37% (466 people) were against.

References

External links

"International observer: Referendum in Transdnestr conforms to international norms"
''Regnum News''
"Moldova's Trans-Dniester Votes in Referendum on Whether to Pursue Independence"
''Voice of America News''
Transdnestr independence plebiscite
''RIA Novosti''

Radio Free Europe {{Transnistria conflict

Referendums in Transnistria Russian irredentism Separatism in Moldova Transnistria conflict Transnistria, 2006 referendum 2006 elections in Moldova 2006 in Transnistria 2006 in international relations