It is a fold on the map of Europe. A forgotten corner that refused the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1991 and its dissolution into the newly independent Moldovan state.
Sunday, December 12, will be held there the presidential election the least followed on the continent. The Republic of Transnistria, a strip of Moldovan territory along the Ukrainian border, where 475,000 people live, will re-elect in one round the outgoing president of this separatist region, Vadim Krasnoselski, 51 years old. The electoral process will finalize the transformation of a neosovietic regime turned towards Moscow into a single state-corporation in Europe.
“I’m not going to vote on Sunday, that’s for sure, exclaims Viktor, 41, a company director in Tiraspol, capital of the “PMR”, the local acronym of the Transdniestrian Republic of Moldova. The previous elections were open, but this one was not. There is only one candidate, the president [sortant]. The other [Sergueï Pynzar], nobody knows him. How did he get the 20,000 signatures needed to introduce himself? It’s a joke ! “ Viktor refuses to have his last name published: “The police can come and shut down my company overnight under any pretext. “
The president’s only rival did not stand out for his efforts to imitate a campaign clash. Sergei Pynzar has not published his political program. He has not organized any meeting with voters and remains unreachable for journalists. “Power knows it is unpopular and has therefore eliminated all real competition”, declares to World Anatoli Dirun, 44, a presidential candidate dismissed for allegedly collecting fake signatures of support. However, the electoral commission did not provide any evidence of forgery.
In order to prevent any false notes at the time of the results, this same commission deprived voters of the possibility of ticking the box on the ballot paper. “Against all”, which existed until now. Scandalized, Anatoli Dirun calls on his voters to cross out the names of the two candidates on the ballot.
“An oligarchy instead of a government”
“Over the past five years, the political system has been transformed. Today we have an oligarchy instead of a government, he explains. The Sheriff corporation nibbled the PMR state through the Obnovlenie party [Renouvellement] “.
The latter controls Parliament and is funded by the Sheriff Company, or rather a sprawling conglomerate. Sheriff controls the media and owns all the profitable businesses in the separatist region: the sole Telecom operator for PMR, the construction and textile sectors, hotels, banks, wine & spirits activities and beyond, a large part the livestock sector. The flagship of the group: FC Sheriff, a football club which dominates the Moldovan league and which caused a sensation at the end of September by winning a match against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
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