Home > 1.2 Equal suffrage > MOLDOVA- Opinion on the Election Law
 
 
 
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 In eight of the ten post-Communist countries now seeking admission to the European Union the representation threshold is 5%, which it also is in the Russian Federation. In Bulgaria the threshold is 4% and in Slovenia, 3%. A higher threshold for blocs or coalitions of parties is frequently found in the region - but not at the levels specified here, and it may not be a wise arrangement. For example, in Romania a two-party bloc has a threshold of 8%, with 1% added for each additional member of the bloc. In Slovakia, a two or three-party bloc has a threshold of 7%; and for four or more parties it is 10%. In the Czech Republic the threshold rises steeply from 5 percent for a single party to 10% for a two-party coalition, 15% for 3 parties and 20% for four parties. Minority ethnic groups are sometimes catered for by establishing different and lower thresholds or by reserving a small number of seats (Table 1).
 

Table 1.- Proportional representation thresholds

 
 





Year



Country



Threshold for seats (%)



PR Index (%)





1



2



3+ parties





2000



Slovenia



3-a



3



3



97





2001



Poland



5-b



8



8



91





1999



Estonia



5



5



5



90





2002



Hungary



5



5



5



89





2001



Bulgaria



4



4



4



86





2002



Czech R



5



10



15-c



85





2002



Latvia



5



5



5



84





2001



Slovakia



5-d



7



7



82





2000



Romania



5



8



9-d



82





2000



Lithuania



5



7



7



78





1999



Russia



5



5



5



78





 



MOLDOVA



6



9



12



72





 

(Proportionality Index: 100% equals exact match share of votes and seats)

 

a. Two seats reserved for ethnic minorities.

b. No threshold for minority parties.

c. And 20% for four parties.

d. For a coalition of four or more parties, 10%.

e. Guaranteed representation for minority parties.

 

Source: Calculated from official electoral data to be reported in Richard Rose and Neil Munro, Elections and Parties in New European Democracies. Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, forthcoming, spring, 2003.