During the current electoral campaign, salaried employees again inform about cases when the employer forces them to go to the polls. They say that the administration demands that after elections they show the loose leaf accompanying the identity card with the stamp “July 29, 2009 Elections”. Jurists speak about a serious violation of the electoral legislation by employers and remind that the participation in the vote is a right, not an obligation. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, Ion Manole, president of Promo-LEX Association, said that the fact that the employers threaten the employees with dismissal is a serious infringement. “No such obligation is stipulated in the work contract. The non-going to the polls is not a reason for dismissal, but if such cases take place the administration will certainly invoke other reasons,” Ion Manole said. “It is true that the participation in elections in some states is mandatory. But in Moldova this is a right and the checking by employers or persons holding responsible positions if the employees took part in the vote is a violation that should be sanctioned,” jurist Eugeniu Rabca said, adding that such a practice is frequently used by civil servants. Referring to article 7 of the Electoral Code, Eugeniu Rabca stressed that no one has the right to exert pressure on the voters in order to make them vote and hinder them from exercising their right to vote freely. Thus, the verification of the loose leaf accompanying the identity card is a flagrant violation of the electoral legislation. Iurie Ciocan, secretary of the Central Election Commission, said that this issue is exaggerated. “We have never been notified of such cases. However, if the employees are asked to present the loose leave they should not do it,” Ciocan said. There was also reported that a group of Russian-speaking employees close to the retirement age of a thermoelectric station in Chisinau were misinformed by the company’s administration that if the July 29 elections are won by the Opposition parties, they will be replaced with young specialists that speak Romanian. “The employees continue to face such problems because they do not file complaints to the relevant bodies. As the people hide such problems out of fear, they will remain unknown and will not be solved,” said the expert in human rights Ion Manole. The experts recommend the people to report any violation of their rights in the electoral campaign to the associations monitoring the campaign for the July 29 legislative elections, which form part of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Electrons – Coalition 2009.