ce of prime minister; within 15 days
from designation, the prime minister-designate will request a vote of
confidence from the parliament regarding his/her work program and
entire cabinet
election results: Petru LUCINSCHI elected president; percent of vote -
Petru LUCINSCHI 54%, Mircea SNEGUR 46%; Dumitru BRAGHIS was nominated
by the president 16 December 1999 and was elected prime minister by a
parliamentary vote of 57-4 (40 abstentions) on 21 December 1999

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats;
parties and electoral blocs, as well as independent candidates,
compete in popular elections to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 22 March 1998 (next to be held spring 2002)
election results: percent of vote by party - PCM 30%, CDM 19%, PMDP
18%, PFD 9%; seats by party - PCM 40, CDM 26, PMDP 24, PFD 11
note: the comparative breakdown of seats by faction is approximate

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court is the sole
authority of constitutional judicature

Political parties and leaders: Bloc for a Democratic and Prosperous
Moldova or PMDP ; Christian Democratic Popular Front
or FPCD ; Communist Party or PCM [Vladimir
VORONIN, first chairman]; Democratic Convention of Moldova or CDM
; Party of Democratic Forces or PFD [Valeriu
MATEI, chairman]

International organization participation: ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE,
CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ceslav CIOBANU
chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: (202) 667-1130
FAX: (202) 667-1204

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Rudolf Villem PERINA
embassy: Strada Alexei Mateevicie, #103, Chisinau 2009
mailing address: use embassy street address; pouch address - American
Embassy Chisinau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7080
telephone: (2) 23-37-72
FAX: (2) 23-30-44

Flag description: same color scheme as Romania - three equal vertical
bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of flag
is of a Roman eagle of gold outlined in black with a red beak and
talons carrying a yellow cross in its beak and a green olive branch in
its right talons and a yellow