A group of initiative in Chisinau asked the Russian Federation leadership to ensure the creation of enough polling stations on its territory so that all the Moldovans there would be able to cast their vote in the upcoming elections this fall, when the next Moldovan president will be elected.

Anatol Plugaru, political activist and former minister of security, also signed the petition and told a press conference at IPN that the Moldo-Russian relations are currently suffering because the people who come into power are not interesting in improving them. However, he notes that there 700,000 Moldovans working in Russia and who want better relations between the two countries. If they get the chance to vote this fall, they might contribute to their improvement.

The activists also called on Patriarch Kiril to persuade the Russian leadership to grant their request. According to them, polling stations should be opened in all the cities and towns with a concentration of Moldovan citizens. The petitioners also hope the Russian authorities might financially support the organization of the elections in Russia.

Anatol Plugaru is confident that Kremlin has the tools to make sure that polling stations are opened even in Transnistria, so that Moldovan citizens living in the Eastern districts can vote at home.

Mihai Garbuz, head of the Patriots of Moldova Party, added that this call must reach the authorities in Chisinau as well, who should realize that society won’t tolerate the violation of rights of people working abroad. “What kind of democracy is this if people cannot vote? The government itself must ask the Russian Federation for help in opening polling stations there and in Transnistria”, said the politician.

Alexandru Popa, head of the “Moldova is My Motherland” Civic Association, compared the attitudes of the two countries. When Russia had parliamentary elections, they asked to open 25 polling stations in Moldova, but when Moldova had a parliamentary ballot, it opened only 5 polling stations in Russia, despite the latter being such a huge country with so many Moldovans living or working there.