| Transnistria |
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A presidential election was held in Transnistria on 11 December 2011.[1][2] A run-off was held on 25 December 2011.[3]
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Incumbent president Igor Smirnov has been in power since Transnistria declared independence in 1990, and is not term-limited. In the previous election, Smirnov faced only token opposition, but this year, the challenge from opposition party Renewal may be stronger, with its leader Anatoliy Kaminski put forward as presidential candidate.[4]
Candidate registration is open from 11 September to 11 November.[2] On 14 September, opposition MP and former speaker of the Supreme Council Yevgeny Shevchuk was the first to nominate himself at the CEC. Shevchuk is affiliated with Renewal, who are already supporting Kaminski, signalling a possible split. Shevchuk has since been followed by Pridnestrovie Communist Party chairman and MP Oleg Khorzhan, as well as newspaper editor Andrey Safonov, who was also a candidate in the 2006 election.[5]
On 28 September, Breakthrough founder and MP Dmitry Soin also nominated himself as a candidate.
Soin, Smirnov, Khorzhan, Safonov, Shevchuk and Kaminsky were registered as candidates[6], Safonov was initially refused registration by CEC with reference to more than 15 % of invalid signatures among those gathered in his support,[7] but later registered according to a ruling by Tiraspol city court.[8]
An exit poll taken showed Smirnov in the lead with 47.38%, with opposition vote split between Shevchuk (23.21%) and Kaminski (22.6%).[9] Transnistrian law requires a majority to be elected, meaning a second round would be necessary.
After the election, the incumbent Smirnov called for the results to be scrapped due to irregularities. Announcement of results was postponed from 12 December to 14 December.[10]
Preliminary results (with 95% of the vote counted) showed that Smirnov was only in third place with 25.5%, with Shevchuk at 39% and Kaminski at 27.7% reaching the run-off round. Kaminski is reportedly Russia's preferred candidate.[11]
A run-off was held on December 25 and according to a source in the Central Election Commission of Transnistria quoted by RIA Novosti Shevchuk won it after garnering 74% of the votes.[12] His rival Anatoliy Kaminskiy received only 20% and acknowledged his defeat. The turnout was 51.7%.[13]
| Candidate | Party | 1st round | 2nd round | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| Yevgeny Shevchuk | Independent | 95,765 | 38.55 | 165,502 | 73.88 |
| Anatoliy Kaminski | Renewal | 65,330 | 26.30 | 44,071 | 19.67 |
| Igor Smirnov | Independent | 61,248 | 24.66 | ||
| Oleg Khorzhan | Pridnestrovie Communist Party | 12,646 | 5.09 | ||
| Dmitry Soin | Breakthrough | 1441 | 0.58 | ||
| Andrey Safonov | Independent | 1303 | 0.52 | ||
| Against all | 4667 | 1.88 | 9977 | 4.45 | |
| Invalid | 5986 | 2.41 | 4460 | 1.99 | |
| Total number of votes cast | 248,386 | 100.00 | 224,010 | 100.00 | |
| Turnout | 248,386 | 58.88 | 224,010 | 52.47 | |
| Abstention | 202,948 | 47.53 | |||
| Total number of registered voters | 100.00 | 426,958 | 100.00 | ||
| Source: Olvia Press 2 Transnistrian CEC | |||||
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