Moldova's Constitutional Court approves vote recount result

CHISINAU, April 22 (RIA Novosti) - Moldova's Constitutional Court approved at a meeting on Wednesday the results of the parliamentary election recount, confirming victory for the Communist Party.

The country's electoral commission announced the results of the recount on Tuesday, leaving the ruling party's majority from the April 5 election unchanged at 49.48%.

The Communists' victory sparked protests that turned violent in the capital, Chisinau. President Vladimir Voronin had requested the recount "to find a way out of the political deadlock, and restore the atmosphere of stability and trust in the newly elected parliament."

The Communists have 60 out of 101 parliamentary seats, and are one seat away from being able to unilaterally elect a new president. Voronin is due to step down on May 7.

Protests originally led by the opposition spun out of control when some 10,000 rioters, mainly students, broke into the presidential residence and parliament. Several hundred protesters and police were injured in the violence.

The Liberal Party, the Liberal Democratic Party and Our Moldova alliance said in a joint statement after the election that major violations took place in the compiling of lists of eligible voters. The opposition claimed that some 400,000 voters had been unlawfully registered to vote.

However, observers from Europe's main election monitoring body, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, gave their overall endorsement to the voting process.

"The 5 April 2009 parliamentary elections took place in an overall pluralistic environment, offering voters distinct political alternatives and meeting many of the OSCE and Council of Europe commitments," a statement released after the election said.

However, the OSCE noted that "voter registration lacked uniformity and an adequate legal framework."