The authors of the legislative initiative to change the electoral system suggest reducing the number of signatures to 250 for women candidates in parliamentary elections and instituting a bonus for parties that will promote women on the lists of candidates and in constituencies. The provisions were presented in a new round of debates on the bill to change the electoral system in the evening of July 12, IPN reports.
Democratic MP Sergiu Sarbu said they propose allowing the Transnistrians to register for the parliamentary elections beforehand so as to establish the borders of constituencies and the location of polling places and to compile the lists of voters. “We will use data from the state register of voters concerning Transnistrians who possess Moldovan identity cards and passports. These will help us decide the borders of constituencies. Here, we could also use information from the law on the territorial-administrative organization,” stated Sergiu Sarbu.
According to the MP, the constituencies abroad can be established based on the information provided by Moldova’s consular offices and the number of voters who took part in the previous elections. The constituencies will be delimited according to the demographic criterion and the geographical area. On the recommendation of the Venice Commission, the deadline for withdrawing a candidate from the race could be increased from 7 days at present to 14 days.
Also, the election outcome could be invalidated not only because of electoral violations identified on the election day, but also those discovered before the elections. The polling places abroad could be issued with up to 5,000 ballots, while those from inside the country with up to 3,000 ballots. The election validation period could be shortened.
Gennady Cosovan, who heads the public association “Credinta Patriei” (“Loyalty to Country”), said that despite the proposed provisions, only one political player will have access to Transnistria to campaign there. If the Transnistrians are not objectively informed about the parliamentary elections and as long as the Moldovan authorities do not control the area, the elections in the security zone will be rigged.
Political analyst Victor Gurau also considers that the Moldovan authorities should think up a campaign to correctly inform the people from the left side of the Nistru. He pleaded for the organization of at most six constituencies in the security zone.
For his part, programs coordinator of “Promo-LEX” association Nicolae Panfil stated that the authors of the proposal should envision the possibility of freeing the local public authorities from the duty to verify and stamp the lists of signatures in favor of candidates so as to avoid polarization at the local level. Also, the bill to introduce the mixed-member electoral system should be discussed in Parliament in three readings.
Sergiu Coropceanu, secretary general of the Social Democratic Party, said the new provisions proposed by the authors of the legislative initiative cannot ensure the correctness of elections on the left side of the Nistru. It looks as if the goal is to exploit those from Transnistria.
During its plenary session on June 16, the Venice Commission adopted opinions that critically assess the draft law for Moldova’s electoral system for the election of Parliament and a proposal to expand presidential powers. Following extensive public consultations with all relevant stakeholders, the joint opinion concluded that the proposed reform cannot be considered as having been adopted by broad consensus. It raises “significant concerns” including the risk that constituency members of parliament would be vulnerable to being influenced by business interests. Furthermore, the responsibility vested with the Central Election Commission to establish single-mandate constituencies for the majoritarian component is based on vague criteria that pose a risk of political influence.
