Moldova Government - 2004

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Moldova
conventional short form: Moldova
local short form: none
former: Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova; Moldavia
local long form: Republica Moldova

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Chisinau

Administrative divisions:
9 counties (judetele, singular - judetul), 1 municipality* (municipiul), 1 autonomous territorial unit** (unitate teritoriala autonoma), and 1 territorial unit*** (unitate teritoriala); Balti, Cahul, Chisinau, Chisinau*, Edinet, Gagauzia**, Lapusna, Orhei, Soroca, Stinga Nistrului***, Tighina, Ungheni

Independence:
27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 27 August (1991)

Constitution:
new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of 1979

Legal system:
based on civil law system; Constitutional Court reviews legality of legislative acts and governmental decisions of resolution; it is unclear if Moldova accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but accepts many UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) documents

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Vladimir VORONIN (since 4 April 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Vasile TARLEV (since 15 April 2001), First Deputy Prime Minister Vasile IOVV (since 29 January 2002); Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry TODOROGLO (since 19 April 2001)
cabinet: selected by president, subject to approval of Parliament
elections: president elected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 4 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2005); note - presidential elections were scheduled for December 2000, but in July 2000, Parliament canceled direct, popular elections; Parliament's failure to choose a new president in December 2000 led to early parliamentary elections in February 2001; prime minister designated by the president, upon consultation with Parliament; note - within 15 days from designation, the prime minister-designate must request a vote of confidence from the Parliament regarding his/her work program and entire cabinet; prime minister designated 15 April 2001, cabinet received a vote of confidence 19 April 2001
election results: Vladimir VORONIN elected president; parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 71, Dumitru BRAGHIS 15, Valerian CRISTEA 3; Vasile TARLEV designated prime minister; parliamentary votes of confidence - 75 of 101

Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 February 2001 (next to be held NA 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - PCM 50.1%, Braghis Alliance (now Our Moldova Alliance) 13.4%, PPCD 8.2%, other parties 28.3%; seats by party - PCM 71, Braghis Alliance (now Our Moldova Alliance) 19, PPCD 11

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for constitutional judicature)

Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party [Dumitru DIACOV]; Communist Party of Moldova or PCM [Vladimir VORONIN, first chairman]; Our Moldova Alliance [Dumitru BRAGHIS, Serafim URECHEANU]; Popular Christian Democratic Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA]; Social Liberal Party [Oleg SEREBRIAN]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACCT, BSEC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mihail MANOLI
FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204
telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130
chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Heather M. HODGES
embassy: 103 Alexei Mateevici Street, Chisinau MD-2009
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [373] (22) 23-37-72
FAX: [373] (22) 23-30-44