Partidul Comuniștilor Din Republica Moldova
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The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (, PCRM) is a communist party in
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. ...
led by
Vladimir Voronin Vladimir Voronin (; born Vladimir Bujeniță, 25 May 1941) is a Moldovan politician. He was the third President of Moldova#Republic of Moldova (1991–present), President of Moldova from 2001 until 2009 and has been the leader of the Party of ...
. It is the only communist party to have held a
majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. Such a government can consist of one party that holds a majority on its own, or be a coalition government of multi ...
in a
post-Soviet state The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...
. It has been variously described as
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
, Moldovenist,
populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...
, Russophile, and pro-Soviet. Affiliated with the
Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union (UCP–CPSU) is a federation of communist parties in the post-Soviet states founded in 1993. Gennady Zyuganov has been the organisation's chairman since 2001. He replaced ...
, it is also a member of the
Party of the European Left The Party of the European Left (PEL), or European Left (EL), is a European political party that operates as an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. It was formed ...
and the
International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties The International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP) is an annual conference attended by communist and workers' parties from several countries. It originated in 1998 when the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) invited communist an ...
. In contrast to most like-minded
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
and communist parties, especially in the
Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
, the party has a conservative outlook on social issues, reflecting Voronin's views, the country's strong
social conservatism Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on Tradition#In political and religious discourse, traditional social structures over Cultural pluralism, social pluralism. Social conservatives ...
, and the influence of the
Moldovan Orthodox Church Moldovan and Moldavian refer to something of, from, or related to Moldova or Moldavia. In particular, it may refer to: *Moldovans, the main ethnic group of the Republic of Moldova *''Moldavians'', the inhabitants of the historical territory of the ...
.


History

The PCRM was registered as a political party in 1994. The PCRM was part of the Popular Patriotic Forces Front at the time of the 1996 presidential election, in which Voronin stood as the coalition's candidate and won 10.3% of the vote, placing third. The party supported
Petru Lucinschi Petru Lucinschi (; born 27 January 1940) is a former Moldovan politician who was Moldova's second President from 1997 to 2001. He currently serves as the founder and head of the Lucinschi Foundation of Strategic Studies and International Relat ...
in the second round of the election, and following Lucinschi's victory the PCRM was given two positions in the government. Romanian historian Dorin Cimpoeșu has described the party as Moldovenist.


1998 parliamentary election

In the
1998 Moldovan parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 22 March 1998.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1330 The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) emerged as the largest party in Parliam ...
, the PCRM won 30.1% of the vote and 40 seats, becoming the largest party in parliament; in its platform, it called for "the rebirth of a socialist society". Despite its strong showing, the PCRM was left in opposition due to the formation of a center-right coalition government,
Alliance for Democracy and Reforms The Alliance for Democracy and Reforms (often abbreviated to ADR) was a governing coalition in Moldova between numerous non-Communist parties which had absolute majority in the Moldovan Parliament after the 1998 parliamentary election. The ov ...
(ADR). Although Lucinschi later nominated
Vladimir Voronin Vladimir Voronin (; born Vladimir Bujeniță, 25 May 1941) is a Moldovan politician. He was the third President of Moldova#Republic of Moldova (1991–present), President of Moldova from 2001 until 2009 and has been the leader of the Party of ...
as
Prime Minister of Moldova The prime minister of Moldova () is Moldova's head of government. The prime minister is formally appointed by the president of Moldova and exercises executive power along with the Cabinet of Moldova, cabinet, subject to Parliament of Moldova, p ...
in late 1999, the nomination was unsuccessful because Voronin did not have enough support in parliament.


2001 parliamentary election

The PCRM received 49.9% of the vote in the
2001 Moldovan parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 25 February 2001.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1330 The result was a victory for the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM), which ...
, winning 71 out of the 101 seats in parliament.''Political Parties of the World'' (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, page 414. With a PCRM parliamentary majority, Voronin was elected as president by parliament in April 2001. The Constitutional Court ruled that the President could also lead a political party, and Voronin was re-elected as party leader.


2005 parliamentary election

As the ruling political party in
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. ...
, it won the
2005 Moldovan parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 6 March 2005.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1330 The result was a victory for the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM), which won ...
, and provided the President,
Vladimir Voronin Vladimir Voronin (; born Vladimir Bujeniță, 25 May 1941) is a Moldovan politician. He was the third President of Moldova#Republic of Moldova (1991–present), President of Moldova from 2001 until 2009 and has been the leader of the Party of ...
, the Prime Minister,
Zinaida Greceanîi Zinaida Greceanîi (; born 7 February 1956Page on Greceanii at government website
.
) is a ...
, and the
President of the Moldovan Parliament The president of the parliament of Moldova () is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the parliament of Moldova. The current president of the Parliament is Igor Grosu since 29 July 2021. History Moldavian Democratic Republic Moldavia ...
,
Marian Lupu Marian Lupu (; born 20 June 1966) is a Moldovan economist and politician who was the President of the Parliament of Moldova between 2010 and 2013. From this position he served as Acting President of Moldova from 2010 until 2012. Personal life ...
. Under Voronin, it privatized several state-owned industries and governed in a multi-party fashion. It also favors
European integration European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...
and eventual EU membership.


2009 parliamentary elections

After
April 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 5 April 2009. The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) won a majority of seats (60 out of 101) for the third consecutive occasion. Turnout was 59%, exceeding the 50% necessary for ...
and the 2009 Moldova civil unrest, the political and civic climate in Moldova became very polarized. The
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
failed to elect a new president. For this reason, the parliament was dissolved and, consequently,
snap elections A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Snap elections in parliamentary systems are often called to resolve a political impasse such as a hung parliament where no single political party has a ma ...
were held. At the
July 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election Early parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 29 July 2009.Alliance for European Integration The Alliance for European Integration () was a centre-right, anti-communist coalition that governed Moldova from the July 2009 election until it lost to a no confidence vote in the Parliament on February 13, 2013. It was succeeded by the anti-co ...
(AIE). For the first time since 2001, the Communists were pushed in opposition.


2010 parliamentary election

After the Parliament failed to elect a new President of the Republic,
2010 Moldovan parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 28 November 2010 after parliamentary vote failed to elect a President for the second time in late 2009. Background After the constitutional referendum failed to meet the 33% turnout required to v ...
were called. In the election, PCRM obtained 39.34% of votes, winning 42 seats, going again into opposition to the Alliance of European Integration (AIE). In 2011, Igor Dodon and
Zinaida Greceanîi Zinaida Greceanîi (; born 7 February 1956Page on Greceanii at government website
.
) is a ...
left the party and joined the
Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova The Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (, PSRM) is a democratic socialist political party in Moldova. A populist party, it holds Eurosceptic and Russophilia, Russophilic views, both of which are reflected by its long-time leader and ...
(PSRM).


2014 parliamentary election

The
2014 Moldovan parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 30 November 2014. The result was described as "more a loss than a victory" of the incumbent pro-European coalition, with center-right parties divided by sharp tensions. The pro-Russian Party of Soc ...
saw a great defeat for PCRM, which received only 17.48% of votes, losing more than half of its electors to PSRM and electing 21 seats. Following the elections, the party agreed to give confidence and supply to the new
Gaburici Cabinet The Gaburici Cabinet was the Cabinet of Moldova from 18 February to 30 July 2015. It consisted of ministers from the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova, Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM) and the Democratic Party of Moldova, Democratic Party (PDM), w ...
. The agreement collapsed in June 2015 and the PCRM went back into opposition. In 2016, the party suffered a large split as 14 MPS left PCRM faction and established the Social Democratic Platform for Moldova, joining the majority of
Filip Cabinet The Filip Cabinet was the Cabinet of Moldova led by Pavel Filip from January 2016 to June 2019. Overview After the dismissal of previous cabinet, no consensus was reached by the three pro-European parliamentary parties - Liberal Democratic Par ...
. On 10 March 2017, all 14 MPs joined the
Democratic Party of Moldova The European Social Democratic Party (, PSDE) is a centre-left, populist Social democracy, social democratic political party in Moldova. Established in 1997, the party holds pro-European views, and is an associate member of the Party of European ...
(PDM). Since then, the party rapidly declined in polls, losing most of its votes to PSRM and PDM.


2019 parliamentary election

At the
2019 Moldovan parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 24 February 2019 in order to elect the 101 members of the Parliament of Moldova. The Constitution holds that elections are to be held no later than four years and three months from the date of inaug ...
, the PCRM collapsed, receiving only 3.75% of votes and losing all representation in the parliament for the first time in independent Moldova.


2021 parliamentary election

At the
2021 Moldovan parliamentary election Snap parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 11 July 2021. Following the resignation of Ion Chicu, the position of Prime Minister became vacant, with the Parliament being obligated to form a new government within three months. After the ...
, the PCRM decided to join forces with the PSRM in order to re-enter the parliament as the
Electoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists The Bloc of Communists and Socialists (, BCS) is an electoral alliance between the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) and the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM). It was formed as the Electoral Bloc of Communi ...
(BECS). The party won 10 out of 101 seats in the parliament as part of the aforementioned electoral bloc, thus regaining parliamentary presence after 2019.


Ideology

According to Art. 1 of its statute adopted in 2008, the PCRM is the "lawful successor and heir of the
Communist Party of Moldova The Communist Party of Moldavia (, PCM, Moldovan Cyrillic: ; ) was the ruling and sole legal political party of the Moldavian SSR. It was one of the fifteen republic-level parties that formed the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) until ...
both in terms of ideas and traditions." While officially espousing a Marxist-Leninist communist doctrine, there is debate over their policies. In 2009, ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' considered it a
centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
party, communist-in-name only. Romanian political scientist
Vladimir Tismăneanu Vladimir Tismăneanu (; born July 4, 1951) is a Romanian American political scientist, political analyst, sociologist, and professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. A specialist in political systems and comparative politics, he is d ...
posits that the party is not
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
in the classical sense because of the many changes since the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
, but it is the clear successor to the Communist Party of Moldova, and not something foreign to it, for its Soviet nostalgia. For its latest period of governance, the PCRM has outlined a new quality of life, economic modernisation, European integration, and consolidation of the society as goals for the country. During the party's time in government, the party has adopted pro-Russian policies, while remaining committed to
European integration European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...
. Despite being known for gaining most of its support from pensioners, since 2009 it also started to attract more votes from young people and adopting a
populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...
outlook, which was downplayed during the PCRM's time in government but has resurfaced at the opposition and extra-parliamentary level. In contrast to social populist parties, some of which combine left-wing policies on welfare with nationalist stances, while its main ideology continues to be
Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism () is a communist ideology that became the largest faction of the History of communism, communist movement in the world in the years following the October Revolution. It was the predominant ideology of most communist gov ...
and European socialism. The party is known for its Moldovenist position, supporting the existence of Moldovan language and ethnicity. The party considers 28 June 1940 as "the day Moldova was liberated by the Soviet Union from the Romanian occupation". For these reasons, part of the press (such as journalist Oleg Serebrian) described the party as anti-Romanian.


Moldovan Komsomol

The Communist Youth Union of Moldova (; ) was registered in 1995, currently including 6,000 members. According to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, it is the largest youth organization in the country. The First Secretaries of the Central Committee of the UTCM were the following: Victor Verșîn (1995–1997), Eduard Babliuc (1997–2000), Tatiana Nicoară (2000–2004), Grigore Petrenco (2004–2007), Inna Șupac (2007–present).


Leadership

* President –
Vladimir Voronin Vladimir Voronin (; born Vladimir Bujeniță, 25 May 1941) is a Moldovan politician. He was the third President of Moldova#Republic of Moldova (1991–present), President of Moldova from 2001 until 2009 and has been the leader of the Party of ...
* Vice Presidents – Oleg Reidman and Veaceslav Nigai * Executive Secretary for Ideology – Constantin Starîș


Electoral results


Parliament


Presidency


Gallery

File:PCRM 2009.svg, Votes won by PCRM in the
April 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 5 April 2009. The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) won a majority of seats (60 out of 101) for the third consecutive occasion. Turnout was 59%, exceeding the 50% necessary for ...
by raion and municipality


Notes


References


External links


Official website
{{authority control 1993 establishments in Moldova Communist parties in Moldova Democratic socialist parties in Europe Party of the European Left member parties Political parties established in 1993 Social conservative parties International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties Russophilic parties in Moldova Anti-Romanian sentiment Russophilic parties