Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs, as well as independent candidates, compete in popular elections to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 22 March 1998 (next to be held spring 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - PCM 30%, CDM 19%, PMDP 18%, PFD 9%; seats by party - PCM 40, CDM 26, PMDP 24, PFD 11 note: the comparative breakdown of seats by faction is approximate
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court is the sole authority of constitutional judicature
Political parties and leaders: Bloc for a Democratic and Prosperous
Moldova or PMDP ; Christian Democratic Popular Front
or FPCD ; Communist Party or PCM [Vladimir
VORONIN, first chairman]; Democratic Convention of Moldova or CDM
; Party of Democratic Forces or PFD [Valeriu
MATEI, chairman]
International organization participation: ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE,
CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ceslav CIOBANU chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 667-1130 FAX: (202) 667-1204
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Rudolf Villem PERINA embassy: Strada Alexei Mateevicie, #103, Chisinau 2009 mailing address: use embassy street address; pouch address - American Embassy Chisinau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7080 telephone: (2) 23-37-72 FAX: (2) 23-30-44
Flag description: same color scheme as Romania - three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of flag is of a Roman eagle of gold outlined in black with a red beak and talons carrying a yellow cross in its beak and a green olive branch in its right talons and a yellow scepter in its left talons; on its breast is a shield divided horizontally red over blue with a stylized ox head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow
@Moldova:Economy
Economy - overview: Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major mineral deposits. As a result, the economy depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova must import all of its supplies of oil, coal, and natural gas, largely from Russia. Energy shortages contributed to sharp production declines after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. As part of an ambitious reform effort, Moldova introduced a stable convertible currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises, backed steady land privatization, removed export controls, and freed interest rates. Yet these efforts could not offset the impact of political and economic difficulties, both internal and regional. In 1998, the economic troubles of Russia, by far Moldova's leading trade partner, were a major cause of the 8.6% drop in GDP; the value of the currency in relation to the dollar fell by half. In 1999, GDP fell again, by 4.4%, the fifth drop in the past six years; exports were down, and energy supplies continued erratic. GDP is expected to remain at about the same level in 2000.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $9.7 billion (1999 est.)