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Roman Khudyakov, leader of LDPR-Pridnestrovie at the party's founding congress

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - Just four months before the 3 December 2006 presidential elections, the list of new parties joining the fray has gotten yet another name. In Tiraspol on Tuesday, followers of Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky formalized the registration of a new party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Pridnestrovie or LDPR-Pridnestrovie.

Attended by local media, the founding congress in Tiraspol gave birth to the newest political party of the region, an offshot of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia which is the third largest party in parliament. The party is led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a lawyer who is one of the country's more controversial politicians and also a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

At the founding congress, 263 delegates were present, including a Russian State Duma delegation (the LDPR faction), a delegation from the Ukraine's Party of the Regions, and representatives of Pridnestrovie's parliament. Pridnestrovie's president, Igor Smirnov, was not at the event.

Roman Khudyakov was elected Chairman of the party. Khudyakov, a young political activist, came to media prominence in March as one of the organizers of a tent city demonstration on the border with Ukraine. In response to the surprise introduction 3 March 2006 of of customs registration changes in Ukraine, seen by Tiraspol as an economic blockade, Khudyakov led vocal protests on the border between Pridnestrovie and Ukraine.

New party confirms support for independent statehood

At the opening conference, the new party woved to maintain an independent political line but emphasized that it supports the independence policy of Pridnestrovie's current government.
" - We will support and collaborate with anyone who speak in favor of the international recognition of the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica", stated Roman Khudyakov in his keynote address to the delegates, noting that a policy of international recognition for Pridnestrovie rules out unification with Moldova as well as unification with Russia.

Pridnestrovie declared independence in 1990, one year before the formation of the Republic of Moldova. Never recognized by the international community, its territory is disputed by Moldova which maintains a claim and has barred efforts by the country to obtain international recognition despite the fact that it meets the formal requirements for sovereign statehood under the Montevideo Convention and other aspects of international law.

As the newest addition to the local political life, LDPR's members and political activists will work for enhancing and strengthening the statehood of the new and emerging country:
" - LDPR speaks in favor of social justice, but within the framework of a strong, strong, powerful state," as stated in its political platform unveiled Tuesday which twice emphasized the word 'strong'.

The LDPR considers it main political opponents to be the parties Yabloko and the Communist Party, which, in the context of local politics would mean opposition to Yevgeny Shevchuk's Renewal-party (Obnovleniye) and the near-extinct Communist Party of Pridnestrovie.

Answering questions to journalists following the party's launch, Roman Khudyakov would not rule out a future presidential bid, saying only that "in the world of politics, everything is possible."

"Neither liberal nor democratic"

As its sister party in Russia, the local LDPR describes itself as a centrist, pro-reform democratic party. Most observers, however, usually classify it as a far-right nationalistic party, with political commentator Eugene Ivanov of email newsletter Johnson's Russia List calling it "neither liberal nor democratic."

Reaffirming its wish to be seen as a centrist party in Pridnestrovie, the party's local political platform declares that: "Left and right-wing extremists must understand that their time in Pridnestrovie will come never."

The motto of the new party is "Freedom, Law, Order!". The LDPR of Pridnestrovie calls itself "a party of patriots, persons who defend the Pridnestrovian republic with word and deed".

Pridnestrovie - also known as Transnistria - has seen a flurry of new political parties in recent months. Apart from the two main parties in parliament, pro-presidentail Respublica and opposition-party Renewal, the youth movement Breakthrough formed a political party on 2 June 2006 with the stated aim to participate in the democratic process of the still-unrecognized country.