The Party “Action and Solidarity” (PAS) suggested a number of proposals for amending the current Electoral Code in the hope that MPs will register these as a legislative initiative. The bill with amendments was presented in a news conference on April 20, IPN reports.
The PAS proposes extending the limit of ballots intended for polling places established for the diaspora from 3,000 to 8,000 for one place. Abroad the elections should be held during two days – on Saturday and Sunday, while the Central Election Commission should be empowered to decide the number of polling places for the diaspora. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should play a strictly organizational role.
As to party funding, the PAS suggests that the cap on donations that can be accepted from private individuals should be decreased from 200 to five official average salaries, while from legal entities – from 400 to 12 average salaries. The people who live and earn money abroad should not be banned from making donations. “We propose removing this ban, limiting the size of such donations to three average salaries, which is almost 16,000 lei and banning the financing of parties by companies that signed procurement contracts with the state,” said the party’s jurist Sergiu Litvinenko.
The PAS considers that to prevent electoral frauds, surveillance cameras should be set up inside polling places so that they do not hamper the voting process and ensure the secrecy of the vote. Also, the candidates should be assigned to an electoral constituency and the parties should be obliged to introduce internal procedures for designating candidates for elective posts.
The Democratic Party reacted to the initiative of the PAS. The Democrats disapprove of the proposal to finance political parties from funds coming from citizens who settled abroad, suggesting that this will enable foreign powers and organizations to interfere in the internal affairs of Moldova and to promote foreign interests. “By the proposed initiative, the PAS and Maia Sandu do nothing but contribute to the development of pro-Russian parties, which will be the main beneficiaries of the legalization of funds from foreign citizens intended for the parties of the Republic of Moldova,” the PDM says in a press release.
