Under the new draft Electoral Code, approved in first reading by Parliament earlier this week, ballots will be printed only in Romanian, with Russian to be used just for voter information materials. Pavel Postica, deputy chair of the Central Electoral Commission, said during a RLive show that the ballot contains simple information that can be read by anyone holding the Moldovan citizenship. Besides, inside the polling stations there will be materials in all the languages of the ethnic minorities that will explain the electoral process.
At the 2021 early parliamentary elections, of the total 3.6 million ballots, nearly 700,000 were printed in Russian. If the current version of the Code is adopted, at the next election no ballot will be printed in Russian. Postica says that the ballot paper does not contain such complicated information that it cannot be understood by any Moldovan citizen.
“The ballots will be printed in one language, Romanian. There will be information materials not only in Russian, there will also be models of ballot papers in other languages for those who do not speak the official language. These will be leaflets that will be posted at the entrance to the polling station, with instructions on how to use the ballot and other electoral procedures. They will be translated into several languages to facilitate the integration of all minorities. Apart from the Russian minority, we also have the Gagauz, Bulgarians, Ukrainians, Roma. We must create facilities and conditions for all minorities”, Postica told the talk show Rezoomat.
He added that the CEC will make sure that the voting process is thoroughly explained to the ethnic minorities through information materials. Also, at the polling station, translation will be provided for those who do not speak Romanian.
