Svobodna Dnevnik

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Svobodna Dnevnik

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Protests against political corruption turn violent in Mordvania
By: Polina Lamparska
Published: Dein, 1598


Protesters in Slovograd. Mordvanian government blamed the far-right and radical groups for recent violence

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The Mordvanian goverment is facing increasing criticism of its management of recent anti-government protests.

Yesterday, more than a hundred people were arrested only in Slovograd, after a group of protesters faced the riot police. Following the crashes, at least 200 citizens and 20 policeman needed medical assistance. A 59-year old protestor was announced dead, although it was later confirmed that the cause of death was a heart of attack.

The recent wave of protests started two months ago in Mestarka, and then they spread around the country, including Slovograd, Republic of Mordvania's capital city. The first was called by a coalition of local activists, student organizations, and independent political groups, calling to strengthen the rule of law and more transparency against corruption, specially regarding the doubtful practices exposed in the so-called Handke Tapes leaks. Although the protests were not originally against the Mordvanian government, as the protest movement spread, criticism against Mordvanian government and more radical demands against corruption increased during the protests.

The protest movement started as peaceful and non-partisan, however, in the last weeks tensions have increased within the protest movement itself and with the authorities as well. In the first case, it started when several opposition parties gave support of the protests, or at least promised to work to satisfy their concerns and some of their demands. In the second case, and more recently, when nationalist and far-right groups joined the protests and started to have a more confrontational attitude with the police. A week ago, there were crashes with the police in at least six towns.

While some of the early activists who started the movement have condemned the violence and deny any involvement, the protest movement has demanded the resignation of Slobodan Narisek, the Minister of National Security, blaiming him of poor management of the protests. Several lawmakers have promised that they will call for a special committee to investigate if there was any wrongdoing in the management of the events.

[Hadash]

Svobodna Dnevnik

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Unexpected left-wing upheaval in local elections
By: Polina Lamparska
Published: Alvan, 1599


Activist Miroslava Jagodek, unknown a year ago, was elected mayor of Slovograd, Mordvania's capital city, and will become the youngest mayor in the city's history.

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The Centre Democratic Party were able to resist in the second round of the local elections, and it will govern in one-quarter of the top 15 Mordvanian towns. However, it obtained a poor result in the largest towns, as the largest city with a Centre Democratic Party voyvode (a political office similar to mayor or local governor) will be Mazenskai, the seventh largest city in the country.

Then, the ruling Centre Democratic Party obtained a disappointing result, obtaining only 22.2% (while they second best nationwide result in a local elections, almost fifteen points behind the last national election two years ago), ending behind the Social Green Left Alternative (LDZA) which obtained 25.1% with a striking comeback (the left-wing coalition had only obtained 11% in the last legislative election).

The left-wing Social Green Left Alternative (created only less than three years ago, as an electoral coalition formed by the Republican Social Radical Party, the Left Party, and the Green Party), despite constant rumours of divisions and internal criticism, and it will govern in half of the largest eight towns. Along former president Zvezdana Serebryak, who was reelected as voyvode of Brezedina, the left-wing coalition also obtained clear victories in Slawowo and Amsberg (the latter, a Centre Democratic Party's stronghold, which had ruled in the city since 1583), and a minimal victory in the capital city, Slovograd, in which left-wing activist Miroslava Jagodek defeated Centre Democratic Party's candidate and former President of the Republican Council Zdravka Magajna. Jagodek, 35, a local activist who participated actively in the recent anti-corruption protests and without known experience in electoral politics, was nominated by the Green Party in the LDZA primaries and surprised both rivals and media with a grassroot campaign.

The left-wing coalition was able to present themselves as the main alternative to the Centre Democratic Party, which reforms have found increasingly opposition recently, and the Mordvanian Republican Party, lately discredited following the so-called Handke Tapes scandal. It was the worst result for the center-right Mordvanian Republican Party in a local election since 1546, and they lost power in most cities, with the exception of Matej Finzgar who was reelected as voyvode in Visnja.

The Mordvanian Democratic Union, a recent conservative split from the Mordvanian Republican Party, won in Mestarka, the second-largest Mordvanian city, after defeating the Mordvanian Republican Party incumbent. The Mordvanian Democratic Union obtained 10% of the vote nationwide, received voters from both the center-right republican party and the far-right Mordvanian National Party which only obtained 9% of the vote, and the only main Mordvanian National Party incumbent candidate lost the election in Opoblina to an independent candidate who received the support in the second round of most of the other political parties.

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Svobodna Dnevnik

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Mordvanian Minister of Defense involved in new leaked recordings
By: Polina Lamparska
Published: Zechyr, 1599


Edgar Puusepp during a recent interview

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More than six months after the start of the publications of the so-called “Handke Tapes”, another political scandal has hit the Mordvanian government, with the leaked recordings of Minister of Defense Edgar Puusepp.

The leaked recordings were not published by Slovogradanski zvon, the newspaper which has been publishing the Handke Tapes, but by Jasnost, a more controversial newspaper from Mestarka. The recording are not either from the same time than the “Handke Tapes”, but much more recently. Although there is not clear indication when they were recorded, there seems to be the case that they were recorded sometime between the election of Agnieszka Szczepanska as President of Mordvania and the 1596 legislative election.

In the recordings, Edgar Puusepp can be heard discussing with Michael Baumsek, an Ostlander businessman of Mordvanian background, a deal to build three skyscrapers in Mazenskai. The recording reportedly reveals that Puusepp recommends Baumsek that, in the case the project is not completed -as the project had been met with protests by local activist-, to take legal action and try to blame Mestarka’s opposition parties in the local town council. During the conversation, Puusepp repeatedly tries to convince to not leave the project and at some point, he reportedly claimed this to be the only way Baumsek would be reimbursed if the project fails.

Edgar Puusepp was mayor of Amsberg from 1583 to 1591, as a candidate of the Coalition of Constitutional Forces. At the time, Puuseep gained a reputation as for his good management of public finances and for ending arbitrary and corruption practices in the local government. Under a centrist and anti-corruption platform, Puuseep run as Centre Democratic Party candidate to the 1590 presidential election, in which he finished third with 13% of the vote. He became Minister of Republican Affairs from 1591 to 1594, during a coalition government between the Mordvanian Republican Party and the Centre Democratic Party. He became General Secretary of the Centre Democratic Party from 1593 to 1595. Surprisingly, he lost the Centre Democratic Party primaries and did not repeat as candidate of the party for the presidential election, in which his rival and colleague Agnieszka Szczepanska was elected President of Mordvania. During Szczepanska’s administration, he served as Vice-President of the Republican Council and minister without portfolio from 1596 to 1598, and Minister of Defense since 1598.

Puuseep is considered one of the most influencial ministers in the Szczepanska’s administration, as a former party leader and one of the most veteran politicians of the Centre Democratic Party. However, his reputation as a politician who steers clear of graft seems threatened to be tarnished by the leaked recordings, as it was already damaged after the Handke Tapes. The opposition has demanded Puusepp to resign immediately, with several opposition lawmakers calling for a vote of no confidence against the government if he is not dismissed.

During the conversations, Puusepp and Batumsek also made disparaging comments about President Agnieszka Szczepanska, and Puuseep reportedly bragged about his role during the electoral campaign -although it is unclear if he meant the 1596 presidential election or rather the legislative election held later that year-  and his own influence in the national government.

The leaked recordings, which allegedly happened before the Handke Tapes were made public and before Puusepp became Minister of Defense as wells, also shows Batumsek discussing with Puusepp the influence of the military establishment, with Puusepp declaring that he would be glad if they could simply privatize Radio Republikanci (a state-owned radio station which is operated by Mordvanian Armed Froces) or “just shut it down for good”.

Marius Budrys, Deputy General Secretary of the Centre Democratic Party, has denied that the latest leaked recordings reveal any wrongdoing. “[The converesation] contains no shred of evidence to suggest Centre Democratic Party or government officials did anything inappropriate”, Budrys declared in a press conference, in which he rejected to allow questions from the media.

President Agnieszka Szczepanska run as presidential candidate vowing to take an uncompromising stance on corruption, but the conversations reportedly showing Edgar Puusepp -who is considered to be Agnieszka Szczepanska’s political menton and one of the top officials of her administration- taking part in murky dealings may undermine her image even further. President Szczepanska’s approval rating is currently 24%, in a poll before the last leaked conversation was published.

She is expected to address this issue in a coming interview in state media, scheduled tomorrow evening.

[Hadash]

Svobodna Dnevnik

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Mordvania: New coalition government is formed
By: Polina Lamparska
Published: Marth, 1600


Eha Grahek-Ternehetär became the only minister to have served under both Zvezdana Serebryak and Agnieszka Szczepanska administrations.

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Eha Grahek-Ternehetär became the 15th President of the Republican Council (head of government), and the fourth women to hold that position.

Grahek-Ternehetär, 57, replaces Konrad Prazmowsky, who had been President of the Republican Council since 1598. She becomes the fourth President of the Republican Council under Agnieszka Szczepanska's presidency.

The election of Eha Grahek-Ternehetär came as a surprise, as she is not officially a member of the ruling Centre Democratic Party. She started her political career in the far-left United Progressive Socialist Party, being general secretary of the Left Party from 1593 to 1594. She was Minister of Foreign Affairs twice, in 1585-1591 -under Zvezdana Serebryak's presidency-, and from 1596 until 1598, when she was replaced by Borislav Zahovek.

The Centre Democratic Party obtained 28% of the vote and 183 MPs in the 1599 legislative election held in Vintyr, a loss of almost ten points and 44 MPs since the 1596 legislative election. After tough and long negotiations, the Centre Democratic Party minority government will be replaced by a new coalition government formed by the Centre Democratic Party, the Republican Democratic Party and the Green Party.

There were increasing rumours and speculation of a new coalition government between the Centre Democratic Party and the Mordvanian Republican Party, as the one which existed between 1591 and 1594, only that with the Centre Democratic Party as majority member this time. Since 1596, although the Mordvanian Republican Party remained the leading party of the opposition, many of President Agnieszka Szczepanska's reforms, specially those related to economic and security police, had relied in the support of the Mordvanian Republican Party.

However, the poor result of the Mordvanian Republican Party, which remained as the second largest political party in the parliament, but barely obtained 12% of the vote and 71 MPs, made such thing impossible.

The new coalition government is expected to have a more comfortable majority, as the three political parties combined will have a total of 254 of 599 MPs (27 more than the previous government). The coalition government has agreed on an agenda which includes economic policy, national security, administrative and constitutional reforms, and environmental policy. The coalition will have a majority of Centre Democratic Party ministers, several independents, three Green Party ministers, and two Republican Democratic Party ministers. It will be the first time for the Green Party in the national government, while the Republican Democratic Party was created only two years ago, as a split from former members of the Mordvanian Republican Party.

The new coalition government required the support in the parliament of the left-republican Republican Social Radical Party, which supported Eha Grahek-Ternehetär as President of the Republican Council in exchange for a 10-point agreement, which includes promises of an increasing in social spending and welfare, along a reform of the last fiscal reform. However, although the new coalition is expected to slightly shift toward the center-left, it is unclear if Grahek-Ternehetär's government will try to rely in the Republican Social Radical Party or rather negotiate on daily basis with other political forces. According to most sources, the latter seems more likely.

The Labour Alliance, a left-wing coalition which included the Mordvanian Socialist Left and the Left Party, which Grahek-Ternehetär led from 1593 to 1594, voted against her appointment as President of the Republican Council.

Eha Grahek-Ternehetär is an ethnic Kaljuran. She was born in Kastena, a small town nearby Mestarka, in northwestern Mordvania. She is married and has no children.

[Hadash]

Svobodna Dnevnik

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Zdravka Magajna elected Mordvanian President

By: Polina Lamparska
Published: Marth, 1602


Zdravka Magajna will become the 5th President of the Republic of Mordvania, and the 6th Mordvanian head of state since the establishment of the Republic of Mordvania in 1544

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Zdravka Magajna, the candidate of the Centre Democratic Party defeated independent candidate Marija Vaznek by 51.3 to 47.8% in the second round.

Magajna, 59, will succeed Agnieszka Szczepanska, as President of the Republic of Mordvania. Szczepanska was elected in 1596 as a candidate of the centrist Centre Democratic Party. His rival that time, ultra-nationalist Lojze Drnovsek (today leader of the Mordvanian National Party) only obtained 4.4% of the vote. For first time, a president will be succeed by another president of the same political party.

Although considered the front runner before the start of the campaign (Magajna actually obtained 31% of the vote in the first round, more than ten points over runner-up Marija Vaznek), the nomination of Zdravka Magajna was itself a relative surprise. Magajna, who had been Minister of Defense since 1599, was not a member of the Centre Democratic Party when Szczepanska was elected president six years ago. She was appointed President of the Republican Council (head of government) in 1596, shortly after Szczepanska's win in the presidential election. In 1598 she resigned as head of government and run as Centre Democratic Party candidate to the local election in Slovograd, which she lost by a few thousands votes in the run-off. However, she was endorsed by Szczepanska and other government and party officials, winning the primaries of the Centre Democratic Party with a clear difference, although not without opposition.

Magajna, who was previously Minister of Economic Development from 1579 to 1585 under the presidencies of late Bozidar Strnad and Zvezdana Serebryak in a Mordvanian Republican Party-led government will become the third female president of Mordvania. For first time ever, the two candidates in the second round were women, although this was mostly a consequence of the division of the center-right republican parties (the Mordvanian Republican Party finished third at 11% -seven points behind Vaznek who obtained 18%-, but combined with the conservative Mordvanian Democratic Union and the Republican Democratic Party, they would have obtained 25% of the vote, enough to make it clearly to the second round).

Marija Vaznek, was certainly one of the surprises of the 1602 presidential election, running as an independent candidate in an anti-establishment but pro-business platform. Vaznek is a Mordvanian businesswoman, well-known for being also the owner of FK Mazenskai football club, as well as owner of several media and production companies. It was not the first attempt in politics for Vaznek, however, who was previously a presidential candidate with a much poorer result in 1596. Most polls predicteda clear win for Magajna, but Vaznek was able to reduce the differences in the last two weeks with an aggressive campaign - although it was not enough to become the first Mordvanian president to be elected as an independent since Chairman Bozidar Strnad. Vaznek's, who conceded defeat only after midnight, declared that her campaign will be "only the beginning of a period the change", but it is unclear if she will be able to have an impact in the coming years or will simply fade away.

Early in the campaign, it seemed that another candidate, Dragomir Senk, was likely to make an impact in the election. Denk, a retired military officer, had been Chief of the General Staff of the Mordvanian Republican Armed Forces from 1588 to 1598, and Chairman of the Council of Defense from 1599 and 1601, run in a platform focused on anti-corruption and law and order policies. However, after several controversies, he finished fifth with 8% of the vote in the first round.

It is unclear how much Zdravka Magajna's presidency is expected to be a continuation of Agnieszka Szczepanska's presidency, which -despite continuous economic growth and a record low unemployment rate at the end of her term- was marked by a leak scandal, unstable approval ratings and a failed constitutional reform. However, Magajna is not expected to confirm if she will call snap elections or if Eha Grahek-Ternehetär will continue as head of government -currently under a minority government since 1599- until next legislative election.