Moldovan Expats Granted Mail Voting Rights for Presidential Elections
Moldovan citizens residing in the United States of America, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland would be eligible to vote by mail in the forthcoming presidential elections and the republican constitutional referendum, slated for October 20th.
The draft law on piloting postal voting is scheduled for its second reading and has been included in today's plenary session agenda for voting. Furthermore, deputies could further amend the Electoral Code of the Republic of Moldova.
Moldovans residing in these six states who wish to vote by mail will be required to register on the Central Election Commission (CEC) website. According to the draft, registration will be open from the date of election scheduling until 45 days prior to the polling date. Subsequently, applicants will be notified by the CEC.
Special envelopes containing ballots will be dispatched to voters via diplomatic mail or regular postal services. These instructions will also include guidelines on voting procedures, particularly on how to complete, seal, and mail the ballot envelopes.
Deputies voted on the draft law in the first reading on March 21st. For the second reading, both the opposition and the parliamentary majority proposed several amendments. Most of these amendments were formulated by PAS deputy Vitali Gavrouc, primarily concerning postal voting, with a few exceptions.
These options could be replaced with "FOR" or "AGAINST" if the amendments proposed by Deputy Gavrouc garner majority support from the deputies.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
