Chisinau, Nov 30 (IANS): Parliamentary elections kicked off in Moldova Sunday as 20 political parties and blocs as well as four independents contend for 101 parliamentary seats.

Under the country's electoral law, the threshold for parliamentary representation is six percent of the vote for individual parties, nine percent for political blocs consisting of two parties, 11 percent for blocs formed of three parties or more and 2 percent for independent candidates.

The Communist Party, the Liberal-Democratic Party, the Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Socialist Party are expected to enter the new parliament, Xinhua reported.

According to a latest opinion poll, the Communists, who form the opposition, are in the lead with 19.6 percent, while the three ruling parties - the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Party and the Liberal Party - follow with 17.2 percent, 14.2 percent and 8.5 percent respectively.

The newly established pro-Russia Patria Party, which was expected to gain enough votes to enter parliament, was banned Thursday for the race by a local court for illegally using foreign funds in its campaign.

Analysts believe that Patria supporters will now help the Socialists, another pro-Russia party, enter the new parliament. The Socialist Party scored 5.3 percent in the latest poll.

Over 3.22 million Moldovans will cast their votes at 2,100 polling stations, including 95 abroad. The election will be monitored by over 4,000 international and national observers.

The Republic of Moldova is a parliamentary republic, where the parliament elects the president and approves the formation of government and its programmes.