The obtaining of information by the missions of observers about what is going on in the election period and on election day is the biggest challenge for ensuring transparency in local elections. In a public debate hosted by IPN, Mariana Novac, program coordinator at Promo-LEX Association, said that from the viewpoint of monitoring, the general local elections are the most difficult ones as there are a lot of contenders for the posts of mayor and local or district councilor.

Promo-LEX Association since 2009, with the assistance of local observers, has gathered information about the necessities of an election process for this to be more transparent, open, correct and to meet all the needs. “In this connection, we collected all the recommendations formulated in time about different issues, including party funding, electoral challenges, conduct of elections and other aspects and formulated recommendations over the new provisions of the Electoral Code,” stated Mariana Novac.

She noted that to make sure an election process is correct, the forces should be combined. “Each of us, being an active, responsible citizen, should be attentive to what is going on. When the Electoral Code was adopted, both Promo-LEX Association and the Central Election Commission, as far as I know, organized particular information campaigns, but not to the required extent,” said the expert of Promo-LEX.

She also said that amendments to the Electoral Code should be made before the start of an electoral cycle so that the new changes could be analyzed. “The principle of amending the legal provisions not later than one year before the elections was almost respected as changes were adopted in December. However, if they had been made one year earlier, each of us would have understood them better. We now have to do our best and obey the regulations and legal provisions so as not to allow violations of the legislation,” noted Mariana Novac.

According to her, integrity is a principle that, when it is respected, it helps the election contender to gain the citizen’s trust in the long run. “Integrity and the real, not false promises will pave the way for the next four-year term in office,” stated the expert.

The public debate entitled “Transparency and integrity in local elections” was staged by IPN News Agency in the framework of the project “Stimulation of discussion in the mass media about traditional particularities of local elections and the need for Europeanization” which is supported by Soros Foundation Moldova.