The general local elections of October 20 were held in a calm and generally competitive environment. At the same time, excessive legal requirements regarding the registration of independent candidates are in contradiction with the international standards and may raise concerns about the inconsistent reasons for rejecting independent candidates, which could have affected the principle of equal opportunities. These are some preliminary conclusions of the international observation mission ENEMO (European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations).
In an IPN press conference, the head of the mission, Dritan Taulla, said that ENEMO qualifies the changes recently adopted as generally positive and in line with international standards and best practices for democratic elections. However, changing the legal framework almost two months before the elections is not a recommended practice, as it negatively affects the stability of the law. "The meetings of the Central Electoral Commission were generally held in a collegial, open and transparent manner. The CEC has previously published the agenda for future sessions and provided draft decisions upon request", said the head of the mission.
According to Dritan Taulla, both the Commission and the electoral councils worked efficiently and in a timely manner in order to organize the elections. However, ENEMO considers that changes to the composition of electoral councils and electoral bureaus on the eve of the elections have affected their activity in some cases, although it does not seem to have significantly affected the process in a negative way.
In regard to the registration of independent candidates, the representatives of the mission found that the process of collecting signatures has been quite problematic in a number of cases, due to legal provisions which are not clear and which leave room for interpretation. In their view, the restrictions and discrimination of independent candidates in regard to their right to run in elections are contradictory to international standards and best practices.
The deputy head of the mission, Pierre Peytier, said that although the election campaign was inclusive, ENEMO preliminary estimates that the provisions regarding the legal rules on campaigning are sometimes unclear and have loopholes, which can be abused by candidates. "ENEMO raises concerns regarding the direct involvement of mayors and government officials in campaigning and highlights that this issue remains insufficiently sanctioned within the legal framework. Additionally, the mission raises concerns that both uneven campaigning periods for electoral competitors and early campaigning have affected the principle of equal opportunity", said Pierre Peytier.
According to him, the interlocutors of the mission representatives expressed their concern regarding the shady financing of the election campaigns, namely discrepancies between the reported campaign funds and the actual costs of electoral campaigning and the related expenses. ENEMO representatives pointed out the lack of strong supervisory mechanisms to verify compliance with legal requirements regarding financing.
ENEMO's press officer Maja Milikic said that the mission statement is based on the observations and findings made during the pre-election period and on election day. The statement is preliminary in nature, as the official results are to be announced and the appeals are under examination. The mission will monitor the electoral process for the second round of local elections. After November 3, a preliminary report will be issued, then, within two months, the final conclusions will be presented.
The European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) is an international network of 21 leading non-profit, non-partisan and non-governmental organizations from 17 countries. The current mission is the 30th international ENEMO mission and the third in the Republic of Moldova.
The international ENEMO observation mission is financially supported by the European Union and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
