The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections calls on the political class to pass a number of laws that would bring transparency in the next parliamentary elections. The Coalition members referred especially to the Law on the Financing of Political Parties and the Law on Ensuring of Balanced Presence of Women and Men in the Political and Decisional Processes, IPN reports.
The Coalition’s secretary Nicolae Panfil, in a news conference at IPN, said the use of the electoral system for achieving political goals is inadmissible. “The Coalition calls on Parliament to guarantee the observance of the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters of the Venice Commission and to refrain from amending the electoral system in this electoral year,” he said.
Nicolae Panfil also said that Parliament must not delay the adoption of the bill on the financing of political parties and election campaigns. “In contrast to the initiatives to amend the electoral system, this bill has been subject to public debates at national level and offers definite solutions to the problems existing in this field. The lack of political will for ensuring the transparency of financial resources in the future election campaign will affect the image of the political class and will diminish the credibility of the electoral process,” he stated.
The Coalition calls upon the competent institutions to take active measures to remove the barriers hindering the persons with physical and intellectual disabilities from taking part in the political life. According to Nicolae Panfil, these persons, who represent about 5% of the country’s population, face a multitude of problems, including inability to read the ballots, impossibility of entering the polling places, etc.
Executive director of the Partnership for Development Center Alexei Buzu said a simple analysis of the list of candidates for the seat of MP in the last parliamentary elections shows that the problem of reduced women representation hasn’t been solved. On the contrary, it became worse. In the parliamentary elections of 2005, the women candidates represented 29%, while in 2010 – 28.1%. “The members of the Coalition want the political class of Moldova to show political will and assume measures, including legislative, so as to increase women’s promotion chances in politics,” she stated.
Executive director of the Association of Independent Press Petru Macovei said that Parliament must immediately adopt the bill with amendments to the Broadcasting Code, providing for the ensuring of transparency of the property of broadcasters. The Coalition called on other media outlets to realize the important role they play in the formation of the public opinion and to ensure equitable, balanced and impartial coverage of the political and electoral events.
The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections is a benevolent union of nongovernmental organizations that aims to contribute to the development of democracy and the guaranteeing of free and fair elections in Moldova.
