Last year's presidential election and referendum revealed foreign interference and corruption of voters. Although the processes are not new for the Republic of Moldova and efforts have been made to ensure the transparency of actions, the election showed that such subversive phenomena risk distorting the results of the elections, endangering one of the most important democratic institutions. In order to outline solutions that will strengthen citizens' confidence that the upcoming elections will be properly organized and that their votes will be translated into a decision that reflects their will, the main actors of the democratic process met at the first Electoral Forum held in Chisinau, IPN reports.
The event is designed to present the balance of a double electoral exercise held last autumn – the ordinary presidential election and the constitutional referendum - and represents "an attempt to remove the detected shortcomings in order to find appropriate legal-administrative and attitude responses to the new challenges related to the phenomena of electoral corruption and disinformation," said the executive director of the Association for Participatory Democracy ADEPT Igor Boțan.
"Currently, our task is to contribute to the transition from the so-called electoral democracy to a stable, resilient democracy. This goal can only be achieved with joint efforts, including invitations to this forum," said the ADEPT executive director.
Promo-LEX executive director Ion Manole noted that the association's recommendations, findings and conclusions have practically always been welcomed by the political actors of the opposition and criticized or disliked by the government. “It was the other way around: when they were liked by those who are in power, they were automatically criticized by the opposition. These realities allowed us to understand each time how important these democratic exercises are because, only through contradictory discussions, can we identify the best solutions in a society based on respect," said the executive director of Promo-LEX.
Ion Manole stressed that a marked division of society, an increasingly fierce struggle between various political forces and currents, a radicalization of the political discourse have been seen lately. Likewise, attacks on civil society and journalists have intensified. It is an extremely dangerous trend as violent, aggressive or hate speech cannot be constructive and effective.
Central Election Commission chairwoman Angelica Caraman noted that the elections are a competition between those who aspire to power, in which the participants present their offer in a bid to convince the electorate that they are the ones who have solutions to the experienced problems.
According to Caraman, competitors are those who adopt particular tactics, including those of attacking the opponent. "I believe that all these manifestations in an electoral process should not circumvent the normative framework. We must not forget about common sense. I will insist on this aspect as the behavior of each of us in an electoral process, in elections, influences what we will reap tomorrow," said the CEC chairwoman.
The head of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Moldova Jānis Mažeiks said that the electoral process, including the functioning of the electoral administration, the involvement of the media in the election campaign and the financing of political parties and election campaigns, is a key area in the rule of law chapters of the EU accession process. Electoral legislation and practices should be aligned with EU standards and practices in the field of elections.
The EU ambassador also added that free and fair elections require an environment where all voices are heard, even the unsuitable ones.
Sunny Ahmed, Development Director at the British Embassy in Chisinau, stressed that this forum provides an excellent platform to exchange ideas and opinions, to make relevant contributions to the public dialogue on elections and their integrity in Moldova.
The first Electoral Forum was organized by the Association for Participatory Democracy ADEPT and Promo-LEX under the aegis of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections. Among the participants in the event are representatives of civil society, authorities, political parties and international partners.
