The Common Agenda Platform that consists of eight parties said the adoption of the new Electoral Code in the second reading should be put off. Representatives of the Platform invoke the lack of a broad political consensus on the proposed amendments among political parties. According to them, the unjustified and in parts unconstitutional amendments pursue the goal of rigging the elections so as to keep the Party of Acton and Solidary in power, IPN reports.

Vlad Batrîncea, executive secretary of the Party of Socialists, said the new Electoral Code poses threats to democracy in Moldova. Besides establishing political monopoly on the Central Election Commission and district electoral commissions, the Code practically creates new realities that can lead to the fixing of the next parliamentary, local or presidential elections. “All the political parties, except PAS, will experience problems in the overseeing of elections, in the accessing of democratic procedures, in party funding,” he said, noting Moldova is not ready for online voting that is introduced by this Code.

Ion Dron, who heads the Party for People, Nature and Animals, said the members of the Platform disagree with the new Electoral Code because neither safety nor freedom of choice can exist when those who are in power adopt rules by which only they can control the electoral process from legal and administrative viewpoints.

Andrei Donica, head of the Party “Speranța-Nadejda”, noted that these manipulative changes in the Electoral Code are made with the aim of rigging the next elections.

Marc Tkachuk, the leader of the Civic Congress Party, said that all the experts and politicians with authority stated that this Code was designed in favor of the current government, in accordance with the standards of not really democratic regimes.

The new Electoral Code was given a first reading in July. It allows holding elections during two days, on Saturday and Sunday, by derogation from the general rule in such exceptional situations as pandemic and state of emergency. In the case of parliamentary elections, the highest number of persons who can be put on the list of a party or electoral bloc is extended to 111.