Democracy Vs Communism

Moldova elects more pro-democracy mayors

Moldova concluded its second round of local elections Sunday (June 19th) for 898 mayors of towns and villages.

The Chisinau mayoral race was emblematic of the country's larger competition between democracy and Soviet-era communism, as well as between what analysts term European versus Russian influence.

The Liberal Party's Dorin Chirtoaca was re-elected as Chisinau mayor by a razor thin margin -- 50.6% to 49.4% -- against the Communist Party candidate Igor Dodon, suggesting deep internal divisions in the country.

That Liberal Party victory in Chisinau is a victory for the Alliance for European Integration in Moldova (AEI), a tripartite coalition of the Liberals, Democrats, and Liberal-Democrats formed after the 2009 parliamentary elections.

Dodon, however, issued a statement Monday (June 20th) thanking his supporters and refusing to acknowledge defeat.

"The difference of one percentage point can't be considered a defeat, even more so when most in Chisinau understand that the election results of June 5th and June 19th were falsified by the present government through various methods," Dodon said.

At the beginning of the campaign, all three AEI parties fielded candidates, but at the end of the first round the Liberal-Democrats withdrew their candidate while the Democrats candidate gathered only 2.5% of the vote among 13 candidates. During the second round, however, the AEI leaders announced they would jointly support Chirtoaca against the Communist candidate.

"During the second round of elections, political parties showed they are consolidated and faithful to the electorate. All three AEI partners supported the same candidate in Chisinau -- Dorin Chirtoaca -- and the result can be seen," political analyst Mihai Cernenco told SETimes .

AEI is now hoping for another victory in the Chisinau local council, elected during the first round of voting on June 5th. The Communists won 26 seats and the AEI 25, but the Alliance contested the results due to what it termed a large number of irregularities. A recount is currently under way.

"There were too many invalid votes, more than usual, as well as other irregularities. We hope that re-counting will confirm a pro-European council in Chisinau, and that we'll continue what we started four years ago: projects to make Chisinau a modern and citizen-friendly capital," Chirtoaca told SETimes .

Moldova's Central Elections Commission declared the elections valid, and international observers from the OSCE and the ODIHR confirmed that the elections were free and fair.

Govertment & Politics News : Communism Vs. Democracy – How to tips ...

There are different forms of government which exist in different parts of the world. There is democracy, communism, monarchy, dictator governments, military governments, etc. There are some countries, which also have a mixed form of government. For example, England has constitutional monarchy, where the actual powers rest in the hands of the Prime Minister, but the monarch is the titular head of the state.

The two most common forms of government are democracy and communism. Both these forms of government have their own set of advantages and disadvantages, however, one cannot forget the impact they have had on the world. Before we turn towards the communism vs democracy debate, it is important that we understand what is democracy and communism, so that we can understand the difference between communism and democracy better.

☭ Communism

When Karl Marx propagated the theory of communism, he aimed for a classless and stateless, egalitarian society structure. In such a society, there will be common ownership of means of production, everyone will have equal access to articles of consumption. There will be no place for wage labor, as everything will be owned by the government. The distribution of everything in such a state will be according to the needs of each person. However, over a period of time, there were many changes that have been made to the theory and many new aspects were introduced into the theory.

✌ Democracy

It is a form of government which gives every citizen equal say in the decisions. The participation can either be direct or indirect. Direct representation was possible in the olden days in Greece, however, now it is through indirect representation every citizen is able to voice his opinion. The basic principle of this form of government is popular sovereignty. Other than popular sovereignty, equality and freedom are the important pillars of democracy. It is in continuation of this thought that every citizen of the country is equal in the eyes of law. Along with this the freedom of political expression, freedom of speech and freedom of press are essential factors of democracy. No doubt there are advantages and disadvantages of democracy, which have played a role in the success of this form of government.

Democracy vs communism, a comparison

Democracy vs. communism in Asia, an address delivered at Los Angeles City College, April 16, 1958

Crimes of Democracy Versus Crimes of Communism

Democracy after communism

Social democracy versus communism