Chisinau  - Although Moldova President Vladimir Voronin is constitutionally obliged to quit his job after Moldova's April 5 elections, few expect him to stop calling the shots in the former Soviet republic, least of all Voronin himself.

Much like Vladimir Putin, Russia's former all-powerful President and current Prime Minister with little less influence, Voronin appears to be looking forwards to continued political dominance in his country.

Chisinau  - Europe's poorest country Moldova appears set to return the ruling Communist party to power in parliamentary elections on Sunday, but future political stability in the former Soviet republic remains less certain.

While party leader and President Vladimir Voronin is serving out his last legal term of office, polls indicate that his Communist party will keep the majority it has held in parliament since 2005, despite local election setbacks in 2007. Opposition parties could capture as much as a third of next legislature, observers said.

Chisinau - Former Moldovan president Petru Lucinschi endorsed opposition parties running against the ruling Communists in upcoming parliamentary elections, the Infotag news agency reported Monday.

Lucinschi served in Moldova's highest office from 1997 to 2001, when he was replaced by Moldova Communist party boss Vladimir Voronin.

Moldovans should vote for "a younger generation" to throw out "the present generation in power," Lucinschi said at a Chisinau press conference.

Chisinau - More than 7,000 protestors gathered in the of the Moldovan capital Chisinau on Monday to protest the Communist government and its alleged corruption, the Infotag news agency reported.

The peaceful demonstration organized by opposition groups moved through the city centre without incident. The march was the largest yet seen in the run-up to parliamentary elections scheduled for April 5.

Chisinau - Moldova's Communist Party appeared on track to retain or even strengthen its near-total control of the former Soviet republic's government, according to the results of a nationwide survey made public Tuesday.

Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and his ruling Communists enjoy 36 per cent support, while the opposition Liberal-Democratic Party and Liberal Party currently can manage only 16 per cent combined, according to data gathered by the Barometre of Public Opinion, a Chisinau-based political science research group.

Chisinau - A Moldovan opposition party accused the ruling Communists of using western-donated humanitarian aid to buy votes in upcoming parliament elections, the Infotag news agency reported Friday.

A statement from the Our Moldova Alliance (AMN) claimed government officials were handing out to potential voters food and goods sent the former Soviet republic in 2007 and 2008 by Europeans concerned with droughts and floods hitting Moldova at the time.