Ministry of Foreign Affairs Opposes Voting Extension Proposal: Electoral Fraud Concerns
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) has issued a dissenting opinion on the regulation sanctioned by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), which proposes an extension of the voting period during the upcoming autumn elections from one to two days.
Diplomatic channels in Chișinău argue that this decision stems from heightened concerns over electoral fraud and the increased likelihood of contesting election results. Consequently, MAE suggests the division of ballots into two sections in localities with a higher concentration of voters.
CEC representatives contend that MAE justified its stance through additional financial allocations aimed at covering personnel expenses, voting infrastructure, and security measures. Furthermore, MAE maintains, as per CEC, that extending the voting period to two days could heighten the risk of electoral manipulation and lead to a greater possibility of result disputes.
The MAE response, as conveyed by CEC representatives, underscores that prolonging the voting period to two days, as per CEC's decision, may jeopardise the smooth organisation, conduct, and tallying of elections, especially in polling stations abroad, notably those established outside diplomatic and consular missions. Hence, the ministry proposes the establishment of two polling stations in localities with a significant number of voters to conclude the electoral process within a single day and mitigate temporal discrepancies with other polling stations.
It is reiterated that members of the electoral authority endorsed the Regulation regarding the intricacies of voting over two days during the June 4th session.
In accordance with legal provisions, CEC has the prerogative, upon request or ex officio, to determine, at least 25 days prior to election day, through a formal decision, the implementation of voting over two days (on Saturdays and Sundays), provided specific conditions outlined in the regulation are met.
According to CEC, voting over two days will be conducted based on the same primary electoral list maintained at each polling station. In instances necessitating additional electoral lists, new forms will be utilised for each day of voting. Following the conclusion of each voting day, the bottom section of each sheet of the primary electoral list will record the number of ballot papers issued to voters listed on that sheet.
For polling stations abroad and those serving voters from localities on the left bank of the Dniester River, only supplementary electoral lists will be employed. The print run of ballot papers dispatched to polling stations can be utilised across both voting days.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
