[Info-Prim Neo article from the Series “Moldova-20! Whereto?”] [Each of the 20 years of independence in Moldova has its meaning and role in what happened in the period and, undoubtedly, in what is going to happen in the country and the people’s lives in the future. Info-Prim Neo asked politicians, analysts, experts and personalities from different areas to pronounce on the main events that took place during a certain year and assess their impact on the country.] [The year 1997 as seen by Iurie Ciocan, chairman of the Central Election Commission] [May 8] –The Memorandum on normalization of relations between Moldova and Transnistria was signed in Odessa. [May 15] – Moldova ratifies the Paris Protocol on armed forces in Europe on November 19, 1990. [July 16] – Moldova ratified the European Charter of Local Self-Government. [October 10-11] – The Union of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova (GUAM) was created, temporarily including Uzbekistan (GUUAM). [November 21] – The Election Code was adopted. [According to the Central Election Commission (CEC) chairman Iurie Ciocan], there were several important events in 1997, but that year will be remembered because of two: adoption of the Election Code and ratification of the European Charter of Local Self-Governance. Iurie Ciocan says that in 1997, on November 21, the Moldovan Parliament adopted the Election Code that unified all the electoral procedures, whether they referred to local or parliamentary elections or referendum, into a single law. Initially, the election of the President was organized according to the Election Code through direct ballot, a stipulation annulled in 2000. "The Election Code established the basic principles of state power formation in Moldova, including the participation in voting, guaranteeing the universal, equal, direct, secret and freely expressed vote. Regretfully, I must say that the Code has been amended 34 times since its adoption. Some of those amendments, however, resulted in real improvements. After every elections, politicians and the CEC came up with proposals of improving electoral procedures based on experiences from previous campaigns", said Ciocan. The CEC chairman added that the recommendations of international experts had a real contribution to the perfection of the electoral legislation. “Those experts came to Moldova as international electoral observers. I remind you that this notion was first defined in the Election Code. 14 years into its adoption, the Election Code provides the legal framework to face any challenges encountered during the organization of free and fair elections in Moldova", he said. He spoke about the second important event of 1997 as well: Moldova's ratification of the European Charter of Self-Governance. Iurie Ciocan explained this meant that Moldova recognized and accepted to apply the highest standards of local public administration. "Today, any action of the public administration, from electing mayors and local councilors to the exercise of their mandate, takes place according to the positive experience accumulated by member states of this Charter. Some of them have hundreds of years of experience in self-governance. This international forum has been and remains a tool of reformation and integration in the family of fundamental democratic values", declared Iurie Ciocan. One of Iurie Ciocan's regrets is the failure to educate "citizens of our country" during the 20 years of independence. "I don't think there are any people ready to sacrifice their lives for our motherland, for Moldova. It's a shame! We're leaving our country without any remorse, we get foreign citizenships, we forget about our People and Land, we prefer to grow among others, whom we consider better than us", said Ciocan. "I believe in my Country and in our prosperous future. We only have to be proud of ourselves, of our Country, to actively promote the reasons of this pride: work, dignity towards ancestors and care about the others. Happy Birthday Moldova!", said Ciocan. {Iurie Ciocan has been chairman of the Central Election Commission since 2011. He is honorary doctor in political sciences. Between 2005 and 2011, he was secretary of the Central Election Commission, after being a simple member of CEC in 2003-2005. In 2009, he was a lecturer at the Public Administration Academy.} [Dumitrita Ciuvaga, Info-Prim Neo]