The draft law to amend the electoral legislation contains dangerous provisions regarding the organization and holding of free and fair elections and the equidistant and correct covering of the election campaign by the media, say organizations that are members of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CALC). They ask for the withdrawal of the bill and for the organization of public consultations, IPN reports.
Parliament on July 9 approved a bill to amend the electoral legislation and related laws registered by a group of MPs on June 19 in the first reading. On June 25, which is in six days of the registration, the Parliament’s commission on appointments and immunities approved the report by which the bill is proposed for adoption in the first reading, noting it was drafted by the Central Election Commission with the participation of a number of civil society organizations, including the CALC.
In a public call to Parliament, the Coalition member says that before the approval, the legal commission on appointments and immunities didn’t propose the bill for public debate. One day earlier, on June 24, the CALC made a public call by which it asked that the CEC and Parliament should ensure a transparent and inclusive process in the examination and adoption of the bill to amend the electoral legislation and prepare the holding of elections during a pandemic, but this was ignored by the authorities.
“By partially undertaking the recommendations of the CALC, it is impossible to really solve the problems identified by the Coalition members, especially as regards the provisions concerning the introduction of the principles of the electoral system; rules concerning electoral campaigning; notions regarding inclusion, disability, administrative resources, accessibility; publication and ensuring of transparency in the process of drafting/adopting CEC decisions; establishing of polling stations abroad; complex mechanism of examining challenges; clarity in forms of responsibility,” says the appeal.
The signatories warn that the bill contains a number of controversial and even dangerous provisions that can vitiate the elections, primarily concerning the covering of the election campaign by the media, work of observers, organization of the electoral process and ensuring of the right to vote in the current epidemiological conditions.
The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections is a permanent, voluntary entity, comprised of civil society organizations from Moldova, whose aim is to contribute to the development of democracy in Moldova, through advocacy and implementation of free and fair elections according to the standards of ODIHR (OSCE), the European Council and its specialized affiliated institutions.
