Pavel Postica, the vice president of the Central Electoral Commission, says it’s “unfair” that independent candidates running in Chisinau and Balti have to collect “a way too big number” of signatures.

During a video conference discussing potential amendments to the Electoral Code, Pavel Postica said that in the case of local elections, the provisions applied to the presidential and parliamentary elections were not taken into account to encourage women’s participation by reducing the number of signatures needed to enter the election as an independent candidate.

Postica considers that independents should be provided with alternative ways of collecting signature, such as by online petitions, according to international practice.

Nicolae Panfil, program director at Promo-LEX, agrees that the number of signatures required for Chisinau and Balti is exaggerated. Clarifications are also needed regarding the procedure for collecting signatures on the same subscription list, as they were previously interpreted against electoral contestants.

The Central Electoral Commission has set up a working group to develop a set of amendments to the Electoral Code. The initiative aims to change the composition, mandate, structure and procedure of appointing CEC members. The legislative proposal will also specify aspects related to the settlement of electoral disputes, as well as sanctions for electoral violations. Further digitization of electoral processes and alternative voting methods will also be part of the announced draft.  

The video conference titled “The Electoral Code Reform: Priorities and Areas of Intervention” was organized by the Institute for European Policy and Reform (IPRE), in partnership with the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CALC) and with the support of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.