You're reading: Moldova separatists elect leader seeking better ties

TIRASPOL, Moldova - Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region has elected a new leader who campaigned on a platform of normalising ties with the rest of the country, rejecting a candidate favoured by Moscow.

Moldova expressed hope the election of Yevgeny Shevchuk could help resolve its separatist problem, one of the "frozen conflicts" still in place since the last days of the former Soviet Union.

Ex-parliament speaker Shevchuk received 73.88 percent of votes in Sunday’s runoff vote, according to figures from the Central Election Commission. The Russian-backed current speaker, Anatoly Kaminsky, won just 19.67 percent.

Transdniestria, a small sliver of land mainly populated by Russian speakers, has ruled itself since breaking away from majority Romanian-speaking Moldova in a brief war in 1992.

The region is not recognised as independent by any state, and has relied on financial and diplomatic support from Moscow, which keeps 1,500 troops there. The conflict has slowed development in Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries.

Shevchuk campaigned on a platform of improving ties with Moldova to ensure freedom of movement for Transdniestria’s 500,000 residents, and other steps to ease their isolation.

After he was named winner, he told Reuters he would seek to build "good neighbourly relations" with Moldova and Ukraine.

"My first task will be to work with our neighbours to ensure free movement of people and goods," Shevchuk said.

However, he said he would not give up the region’s declaration of independence. In a 2006 referendum Transdniestria voted overwhelmingly to maintain independence from Moldova and seek to join Russia.

"The issue of joining Moldova is beyond the president’s powers. It is up to the people who clearly showed their preference at a referendum on Sept. 17, 2006," Shevchuk said.

Moldova’s government expressed hope for progress.

"We are ready to look for new approaches towards resolving the issues that exist between Chisinau and Tiraspol," said Eudjen Carpov, Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Transdniestria talks, referring to the two capitals.

SECOND SETBACK FOR MOSCOW

Kaminsky’s defeat in Transdniestria was the second time in two months that a Moscow-backed candidate has lost a contest for the leadership of one of the Russian-sponsored separatist regions that claims independence from other ex-Soviet states.

A Kremlin-endorsed candidate lost a presidential election in Georgia’s tiny breakaway South Ossetia region in November, leading to court battles, public protests and legal chaos there.

Kaminsky indicated he would not challenge the election results: "I recognise Shevchuk’s victory," he told Reuters. Shevchuk told local media he would be sworn in on December 30.

Transdniestria’s President Igor Smirnov, who ran the region as an independent fiefdom since it broke from Moldova in 1992, was voted out in the first round on Dec. 11.

Talks with Moldova on Transdniestria’s future had failed to make progress under Smirnov, who insisted on sovereignty. Moscow has suggested Transdniestria should be part of Moldova with a special status.

Shevchuk, 43, fell out with Smirnov in 2009 after suggesting constitutional reform to limit presidential powers. His campaign in this election focused on fighting corruption and nepotism.

Although he has not spoken in favour of rejoining Moldova, Shevchuk has called for compromise solutions to make life easier for Transdniestrians, who can have difficulty travelling without passports from an internationally-recognised state.

In the 2006 referendum, 97 percent of Transdniestrians voted in favour of winning formal independence from Moldova and joining Russia. Moscow, however, has never approved such an idea and Transdniestria – on Moldova’s frontier with Ukraine – has no border with Russia.