April 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election protests

April 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election protests
Protests in Chișinău after the April 2009 elections
Date6–12 April 2009
(6 days)
Location
Chișinău, Cahul, Orhei, Bălți
13 cities in Romania, including Bucharest
Washington, D.C., Boston, New York City, London

47°01′40″N 28°49′40″E / 47.02778°N 28.82778°E / 47.02778; 28.82778
Caused byAlleged electoral fraud
GoalsNew free and fair elections
Resulted in
ConcessionsConstitutional Court of Moldova authorizes a recount of all votes
Parties
Lead figures

No centralized leadership

Number
Protesters: around 50,000[3]
Casualties
Death(s)4[4][5][6][7]
Injuries270[8]
ArrestedHundreds
Riot in front of the Moldovan Parliament, 7 April 2009
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Protests against the April 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election results began on 6 April 2009 in major cities of Moldova (including Bălți and the capital, Chișinău) before the final official results were announced. The demonstrators claimed that the elections, which saw the governing Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) win a majority of seats, were fraudulent, and alternatively demanded a recount, a new election, or resignation of the government. Similar demonstrations took place in other major Moldovan cities, including the country's second largest, Bălți, where over 7,000 people protested.[citation needed]

The protests and wave of violence is sometimes described as the "grape revolution" but the term was not used much by outsiders; in Moldova, it is sometimes referred as the Chisinău Uprising (Romanian: Revolta de la Chișinău). Some of the protesters discussed and organized themselves using Twitter, hence its moniker used by the media, the Twitter Revolution.[9][10][11][12] In Chișinău, where the number of protesters rose above 30,000, the demonstration escalated into a riot on 7 April. Rioters attacked the parliament building and presidential office, breaking windows, setting furniture on fire and stealing property.

  1. ^ "Police retake Moldova parliament", BBC online, 8 April 2009.
  2. ^ (in Romanian) "Steagul României, arborat pe sediul Preşedinţiei moldovene", Cotidianul, 7 April 2009.
  3. ^ (in Romanian) "Ole, ole, Basarabie!", Ziua no. 4507/8 April 2009, accessed 2009-04-09.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference familiaunui was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ (in Romanian) "Cadavrul lui Ion Ţâbuleac, mort în ziua de 7 aprilie, a fost aruncat în curtea Spitalului de Urgenţă", Jurnal de Chișinău, 14 April 2009. Accessed 2009-07-22. Archived 19 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine 2009-07-31.
  6. ^ "Ziarul de Gardă " Încă un tânăr decedat: Soroca e în doliu". garda.com.md. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  7. ^ UNIMEDIA. "COMUNIŞTII RECUNOSC: Valeriu Boboc a murit în urma unor lovituri dure". UNIMEDIA. Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  8. ^ (in Romanian) Revolta de la Chişinău. Ziua III. evz.ro
  9. ^ "Twitter Revolution: Fearing Uprising, Russia Backs Moldova's Communists", Der Spiegel, 10 April 2009.
  10. ^ "Moldova's "Twitter Revolution"", RFE/RL, 8 April 2009.
  11. ^ "Moldova forces regain control of parliament after 'Twitter revolution'". The Guardian. 8 April 2009.
  12. ^ Şapte ani de la „revoluţia Twitter“ de la Chişinău. Tatăl lui Valeriu Boboc, tânărul care a murit în Piaţa Marii Adunări Naţionale: „7 aprilie e o taină“. adevarul.ro