The use of administrative resources intensified during the campaign preceding the February legislative elections, as did the phenomenon of gifts for votes. Also, competitors failed to report at least 5.2 million lei in campaign expenses. These findings are included in the final report of the Promo-LEX Election Observation Mission, which also complains of intimidation faced by the Mission observers.
During the conference to launch the report, the Mission’s chief analyst Igor Bucătaru said the first and foremost finding is that the voting system was changed one year before the elections in disregard of recommendations from the Venice Commission. Another important finding is the lack of an explicit legal definition and regulation of what amounts to administrative resources. Also inadequately regulated is the practice of organizing transportation for voters and so is the procedure of dealing with complaints and appeals on election day.
Igor Bucătaru stated that it is for the first time in the Promo-LEX Mission’s sixteen editions that its equidistant monitoring has caused negative and apparently concerted reactions from Central Electoral Commission members, as well as from certain electoral competitors.
As regards candidate registration, the process was less competitive in single-member districts, where differentiated approaches existed. Also, inconsistencies persist between the State Voters’ Register and electoral rolls; many voters were registered to vote at the wrong polling station, some addresses were incorrectly indicated and even deceased people were found on some rolls.
Cornelia Călin, the team’s financial analyst, said parties often failed to report rent costs as well as remuneration for campaign staff, volunteers, canvassers and observers delegated to polling stations on election day. The estimated aggregate amount – over 5.2 million lei – indicates a reduced level of transparency in reporting campaign expenses to the CEC.
The Mission’s head Pavel Postica emphasized that the Electoral Code needed new provisions to regulate how and when a candidate holding a public office must temporarily leave that office, with the recommendation being that the suspension should start at the stage of signature collection, not when the campaign formally kicks off. Other recommendations include: clearly regulate the moment when campaign expenses are allowed; make electoral provisions uniform for all types of elections; clearly define administrative resources and set penalties for their use for electoral purposes; allow Moldovans abroad to vote using their ID cards in addition to passports; and explicitly regulate organized transportation of voters and set penalties for when such cases violate electoral rules.
Attending the event, CEC president Alina Russu said the February 24 elections were complex and revealed issues that should be looked at carefully. Among them Alina Russu noted the rotation of electoral officials, which affected the professionalism of organization efforts. Other challenges included the registration of candidates, as the application documentation became bulkier, compounded by the fact that candidates were given a short time to produce the required documents.
