At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Moldova

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Mihai GHIMPU
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Vlad FILAT
• Assembly: Moldova has a unicameral Parliament (Parlament) with 101 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is indirectly elected by parliament to serve a 4-year term.*
• The Prime Minister is designated by the President upon consultation with Parliament.
• In the Parliament (Parlament) 101 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.***

* The electoral system is two-round. 61 votes are needed (the votes of three-fifths of elected legislators). If more than two candidates run and none achieves this threshold, there is a runoff between the top two candidates within 10 days. If two or fewer candidates run and none achieves this threshold, there is a repeat election within 30 days. If no President is elected after a repeat election, the acting President dissolves Parliament, and there are new legislative elections. Parliament may be dissolved once per year.

*** There is a three percent threshold for independent candidates, five percent threshold for parties. An election is valid only if one-third of registered voters turn out.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Marian LUPU*
  • Bloc: Alliance for European Integration / (AEI)

* The AEI is composed of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party, the Democratic Party, and the Our Moldova Alliance

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 3,565,604 (2009)
• Registered Voters: 101 ( Registered voter number reflects number of parliamentarians)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 1,852,411 (2009)

·         Is Moldova a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Moldova ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (1 July 1994)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 24 (following the 2009 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 107 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Moldova a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Moldova ratified CRPD: Yes (21 September 2010)

·         Population with a disability: 534,840 (est.)