Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova Partidul Comuniștilor din Republica Moldova | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | PCRM |
| First Secretary | Vladimir Voronin |
| Executive Secretary | Oleg Reidman |
| Founder | Vladimir Voronin |
| Founded | 22 October 1993; 32 years ago (1993-10-22) |
| Registered | 1994 |
| Preceded by | Communist Party of Moldavia |
| Headquarters | 11 Nicolae Iorga Street,Chişinău |
| Newspaper | Comunistul |
| Youth wing | Communist Union of Youth of Moldova |
| Membership(2018) | 11,700[1][needs update] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Far-left |
| National affiliation | Bloc of Communists and Socialists (2021–2025) Patriotic Electoral Bloc (August–October 2025) |
| European affiliation | Party of the European Left |
| International affiliation | IMCWP |
| Continental affiliation | UCP–CPSU |
| Colours | Red |
| Slogan | Republică! Puterea poporului! Socialism![1] ('Republic! Power to the People! Socialism!') |
| Parliament | 8 / 101 |
| District Presidents | 0 / 32 |
| Party flag | |
 | |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheParty of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (Romanian:Partidul Comuniștilor din Republica Moldova,PCRM) is acommunist party inMoldova led byVladimir Voronin. It is the only communist party to have held amajority government in apost-Soviet state.[5][6][nb 1] It has been variously described ascommunist,[5]Moldovenist,[7]populist,[8]Russophile,[2][3][4] andpro-Soviet.[9]
Affiliated with theUnion of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union, it is also a member of theParty of the European Left[10] and theInternational Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties.[11]
In contrast to most like-mindedleft-wing and communist parties, especially in theWestern world, the party has aconservative outlook on social issues,[12][13] reflecting Voronin's views,[14] the country's strongsocial conservatism, and the influence of theMoldovan Orthodox Church.[15]
The PCRM was registered as a political party in 1994. The PCRM was part of the Popular Patriotic Forces Front at the time of the1996 presidential election, in which Voronin stood as the coalition's candidate and won 10.3% of the vote, placing third. The party supportedPetru Lucinschi 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 asMoldovenist.[16]
In the1998 Moldovan parliamentary election, 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 (ADR). Although Lucinschi later nominatedVladimir Voronin asPrime Minister of Moldova in late 1999, the nomination was unsuccessful because Voronin did not have enough support in parliament.
The PCRM received 49.9% of the vote in the2001 Moldovan parliamentary election, winning 71 out of the 101 seats in parliament.[17] 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.[17]
As the ruling political party inMoldova, it won the2005 Moldovan parliamentary election, and provided the President,Vladimir Voronin, the Prime Minister,Zinaida Greceanîi, and thePresident of the Moldovan Parliament,Marian Lupu. Under Voronin, it privatized several state-owned industries and governed in a multi-party fashion. It also favorsEuropean integration and eventual EU membership.
AfterApril 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election and the2009 Moldova civil unrest, the political and civic climate in Moldova became very polarized.[18] Theparliament failed toelect a new president. For this reason, the parliament was dissolved and, consequently,snap elections were held. At theJuly 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election, the party received 44.7% of the vote. That gave the former ruling party 48 MPs and the remaining 53 seats in the 101-member chamber went to four opposition parties which subsequently formed the governingAlliance for European Integration (AIE). For the first time since 2001, the Communists were pushed in opposition.
After the Parliament failed to elect a new President of the Republic,2010 Moldovan parliamentary election 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 andZinaida Greceanîi left the party and joined theParty of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM).
The2014 Moldovan parliamentary election 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 newGaburici Cabinet. 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 ofFilip Cabinet. On 10 March 2017, all 14 MPs joined theDemocratic Party of Moldova (PDM). Since then, the party rapidly declined in polls, losing most of its votes to PSRM and PDM.
At the2019 Moldovan parliamentary election, the PCRM collapsed, receiving only 3.75% of votes and losing all representation in the parliament for the first time in independent Moldova.
At the2021 parliamentary election, the PCRM decided to join forces with the PSRM in order to re-enter the parliament as theElectoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists (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.
In the run up to the2025 parliamentary election, the PCRM joined thePatriotic Electoral Bloc, composed of the Party of Socialists (PSRM), theHeart of Moldova Republican Party (PRIM), and theFuture of Moldova Party (PVM) led by former communist prime ministerVasile Tarlev.[19] Shortly after the elections, in which the bloc won 26 seats, of which 8 were taken by the PCRM,[20] the party announced it would be leaving the bloc and forming its own parliamentary group.[21]
According to Art. 1 of its statute adopted in 2008, the PCRM is the "lawful successor and heir of theCommunist Party of Moldova both in terms of ideas and traditions." While officially espousing aMarxist-Leninist communist doctrine, there is debate over their policies. In 2009,The Economist considered it acentre-right party, communist-in-name only.[22][23] Romanian political scientistVladimir Tismăneanu posits that the party is notcommunist in the classical sense because of the many changes since thedissolution of the Soviet Union, but it is the clear successor to the Communist Party of Moldova, and not something foreign to it, for itsSoviet nostalgia.[24]
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 toEuropean integration. 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 apopulist outlook,[5] which was downplayed during the PCRM's time in government but has resurfaced at the opposition and extra-parliamentary level.[25] In contrast tosocial populist parties, some of which combine left-wing policies on welfare with nationalist stances, while its main ideology continues to beMarxism–Leninism and European socialism.[25]
The party is known for itsMoldovenist position, supporting the existence of Moldovan language and ethnicity.[26] The party considers28 June 1940 as "the day Moldova was liberated by the Soviet Union from theRomanian occupation".[27][28] For these reasons, part of the press (such as journalistOleg Serebrian)[29] described the party asanti-Romanian.[30][31]
The Communist Youth Union of Moldova (Romanian:Uniunea Tineretului Comunist din Moldova;Russian:Коммунистический союз молодёжи Молдовы) 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).
| Election | Leader | Performance | Rank | Government | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ± pp | Seats | +/– | ||||
| 1998 | Vladimir Voronin | 487,002 | 30.01% | New | 40 / 101 | New | 1st | Opposition (ADR:CDM–PDMP–PFD) |
| Opposition (ADR:CDM–PDMP–PFD) | ||||||||
| Support (independents→BeAB) | ||||||||
| 2001 | 794,808 | 50.07% |  20.06 | 71 / 101 | 31 |  1st | Supermajority (PCRM) | |
| 2005 | 716,336 | 45.98% |  4.09 | 56 / 101 | 15 | 1st | Majority (PCRM) | |
| Majority (PCRM) | ||||||||
| 2009 (April) | 760,551 | 49.48% | 3.50 | 60 / 101 | 4 | 1st | Supermajority (PCRM) | |
| 2009 (July) | 706,732 | 44.69% | 4.79 | 48 / 101 | 12 | 1st | Opposition (AIE:PLDM–PDM–PL–AMN) | |
| 2010 | 677,069 | 39.34% | 5.35 | 42 / 101 | 6 | 1st | Opposition (AIE:PLDM–PDM–PL) | |
| Opposition (CPE:PLDM–PDM–PLR) | ||||||||
| 2014 | 279,366 | 17.48% | 21.86 | 21 / 101 | 17 | 3rd | Opposition (APME:PLDM–PDM) | |
| Opposition (AIE III:PLDM–PDM–PL) | ||||||||
| Opposition (PDM–PPEM–PL) | ||||||||
| 2019 | 53,175 | 3.75% | 13.73 | 0 / 101 | 21 | 5th | Extra-parliamentary (ACUM: (PAS–PPDA)–PSRM) | |
| Extra-parliamentary (PSRM–PDM) | ||||||||
| 2021 | 398,675 | 27.17% | 23.42 | 10 / 101 | 10 | 3rd | Opposition (PAS majority government) | |
| 2025 | 381,505 | 24.17% | 3.00 | 8 / 101 | 2 | 3rd | Opposition (PAS majority government) | |
| Election | Candidate | First round | Second round | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| 2001 | Vladimir Voronin | 71[a] | 70.30% | Elected Y | ||
| 2005 | Vladimir Voronin | 75[a] | 74.26% | ElectedY | ||
| 2009 (May–June) | Zinaida Greceanîi | 60[a] | 59.41% | No winner | ||
| 2009 (November–December) | Boycotted the elections | No winner | ||||
| 2011–2012 | Lost N | |||||
| 2016 | LostN | |||||
| 2020 | LostN | |||||
| 2024 | Vasile Tarlev | 3.19 | 3.19% | EndorsedAlexandr Stoianoglo | LostN | |
Similarly, the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (which governed Moldova from 2001 to 2009) has a populist streak. Whilst this was much downplayed in government, the party has since re-radicalized in opposition, with parliamentary boycotts and extra-parliamentary "civil disobedience" mobilization. The party has denounced official corruption, "oligarchs," and "[economic] criminals in power," while aiming to defend Orthodox "moral values" against Western intrusions. However, once again, all of the above parties are at most marginally populist: their main ideological nucleus continues to be Marxism-Leninism and European socialism.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
