The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections called on President Igor Dodon to send back the law adopted on November 23, by which the restrictions concerning electoral agitation on the election day were lifted, to Parliament for reexamination because this law runs counter to the good practices in electoral matters. The law envisions the amendment of the Election Code and the Contravention Code so that these permit campaigning on the election day and the day before, including near polling places, IPN reports.
According to the Coalition, such an amendment to the Election Code was made based on the legal commission for appointments and immunities’ report on the extensive assessment of the electoral legislation following the invalidation of the early mayoral elections held in Chisinau in 2018.
The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections earlier presented an opinion on the regulations concerning electoral agitation and advertising to the Parliament’s legal commission for appointments and immunities, but the presented arguments weren’t taken into account or were interpreted unilaterally.
The Coalition noted democratic models of regulating electoral agitation should be implemented so that this is further banned in physical spaces on the election day and the day before, but is allowed on social networking sites and on the Internet. The keeping of electoral silence will protect the voters from the abusive influence of competitors in physical spaces, of administrative factors and members of electoral offices and will prevent the exerting of pressure on voters on the election day.
The Coalition noted that under the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters of the Venice Commission, the modification of the fundamental elements of the electoral legislation in an electoral year or even before the election campaign is not recommended.
