New electoral bloc regulations issued by Moldova's CEC
The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Moldova approved a new regulation on June 17 for registering political blocs in elections.
One of the most significant provisions concerns the naming of electoral blocs: they can no longer use the name of a party that is part of the bloc, nor that of an external political formation if the name is identical.
This measure aims to prevent voter confusion, especially when a party later withdraws from a bloc but its name is retained, explained Pavel Postica, Vice-President of the Central Electoral Commission, during a broadcast on Rlive.md.
Another change requires all candidates proposed by electoral blocs to be members of their constituent parties.
The Central Electoral Commission adopted a rule today prohibiting electoral blocs from using the name of a single party, whether or not it's part of the bloc. Electoral blocs will be able to register starting June 20 (for the parliamentary elections on September 28 – editor's note). Without this regulation, there could be situations where entities with identical names participate in the same election – one as a party, and another as an electoral bloc.
While the regulation was being voted on at the CEC meeting, representatives of the "Alternativa" Bloc staged a protest in front of the CEC headquarters, expressing dissatisfaction with the new rules, which prohibit the use of the word "Alternativa" in their bloc's name. The protestors believe such changes are ill-timed so close to the elections. In response, the CEC Vice-President stressed that the coexistence of a party and an electoral bloc with the same name is unacceptable.
"If a party leaves a bloc, we're left with two distinct entities but with identical names. These are technical issues we've regulated to avoid such confusion," he clarified.
The new norms also establish the full list of documents required for registering electoral blocs, addressing prior concerns about CEC requests. Thus, parties forming a bloc will need to demonstrate that the affiliation decision was made legally, adhering to quorum requirements and internal statutes.
Furthermore, the regulation expressly prohibits the use of names or symbols of parties declared unconstitutional. Consequently, any attempt by successor entities of the defunct ȘOR Party, which was declared unconstitutional, to participate in elections under a similar name will be rejected.
For the parliamentary elections on September 28, the necessary documents for registering electoral blocs must be submitted to the Central Electoral Commission at least 30 days before the start of the candidate nomination period, which roughly corresponds to June 20.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
