Washington, 4 December 1996 (RFE/RL) - The United States has congratulated Moldovans on what the State Department says is the successful completion of the country's first multi-party presidential election.
A State Department spokeswoman said U.S. embassy observers and international monitors reported some violations of electoral law but said the elections were generally conducted in "a free, transparent and democratic manner."
But the spokeswoman said the United States was disappointed by the refusal of the Transdniester separatist regime to allow voting in areas under its control and by separatist attempts to prevent voters in the rest of Moldova from going to polling places.
She said the United States is waiting to see the final report on the Moldovan elections from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which was the main monitoring group.