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Yevgeny Shevchuk, Pridnestrovie's most popular opposition politician, is still pondering a bid for the presidency

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - In Tiraspol, the capital of the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica, the race for the 10 December 2006 presidential election is heating up. Previously announced opposition candidate Andrey Safonov will not be the only candidate to face off Smirnov in this year's race for the presidency. Declaring his intention to run, member of parliament Peter Tomayly will also stand as a candidate. He is currently in the process of filing the required paperwork.

Meanwhile, the voters of Pridnestrovie is waiting to see if popular opposition leader Yevgeny Shevchuk, 38, will decide to run for the presidency. A young and charismatic reformer, Shevchuk is the head of Renewal and - since his win December 2005 - Pridnestrovie's current Speaker of parliaments. His majority group of MPs have challenged Igor Smirnov on legislative matters but it is unsure yet whether they will field a candidate for President.

To formalize a run for the presidency in Pridnestrovie it is necessary to be a citizen of the country, live within its borders and file a petition signed by at least 8,000 voters in support of the candidature.

Democracy under fire

Pridnestrovie, also known as Transnistria or Transdniester, is a multi-party democracy with a unicameral parliament and a president who is elected by popular vote. Western organizations, such as the OSCE, have refused to monitor past elections because they are not organized by Moldova. But many other organizations have participated with teams of international observers. Reports from international observers show that the elections are free and fair, and that democracy takes place in an atmosphere of peaceful collaboration along with a high voter turnout.

A 2005 report from the European Union Institute for Security Studies has positive words on democracy. For starters, it applauds the democratic advances in Pridnestrovie and says that the country's politics "is moving towards more pluralism". In fact, it even recommends implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan in Transnistria, as it calls it, and recognizes that "this would be in line also with the Transnistrian parliament's own initiatives on the reform of the political system."

But some don't agree. Moldova and groups in the West refuse to help democracy take root in Pridnestrovie, and the OSCE has backtracked on a previous offer to help organize elections. Today, it won't even send observers to them and has limited itself to commenting on something it hasn't seen. Moldova goes even further, calling the elections illegitimate because they do not follow Moldova's legislation or Moldova's Constitution. But that, says Tiraspol, is not because of lack of democracy - it is simply because Moldovan laws don't apply. Pridnestrovie declared itself independent in 1990.

US research recommends engagement, not isolation

" - As democracy is finally trying to take root in Transdniestria, Moldova's approach of shutting the door and hurling insults from the other side of the river is not helpful," says a well placed diplomat in Brussels, adding that some of his colleagues are aiding and abetting Moldova in this policy.

Security analyst Dov Lynch, in research which was funded by the United States Congress, agrees that isolating Pridnestrovie is the wrong approach:
" - The international community can pursue order and stability, not through isolation of the de facto states but through engagement with them. The isolation of the de facto states has only entrenched their recalcitrance and created opportunities for the coercive involvement of third parties. The international community could press for an end to the system of blockades, which have undermined the region’s prospects for economic development, blocked foreign investment, and skewed trade patterns. In security terms, they have only exacerbated a nascent and hostile alliance system."

Integration and engagement, not isolation, is the way forward, says Dov Lynch. And as the presidential race in Pridnestrovie heats up, the new and emerging country is showing that it wants pluralism and a deepening of democracy - with or without the help of the outside world.

See also:
» Outspoken Smirnov-critic Safonov launches presidential bid in Pridnestrovie [1]
» OSCE offers to organize elections in Pridnestrovie [2]