Corjova's ballot boxes seized by Transnistrian authorities

The ballot boxes destined for the village of Corjova, a settlement disputed between the Chisinau government and the separatist authorities, have been seized by the Transnistrian customs office on their way to the village, - Info-Prim Neo learned from a press release issued by the Promo-LEX Association. The vehicle that was supposed to deliver the ballot boxes to the polling station no.5 in Corjova (Dubasari constituency) was stopped Thursday at a checkpoint near Pohrebea village. Mayor Valeriu Mitsul of Corjova and the driver of the car, Oleg Cernatu, were detained for several hours at the Transnistrian border, while the ballot boxes were labeled as contraband and confiscated. The Promo-LEX Association, a member of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections – 2009 COALITION, has condemned the actions of the separatist authorities, urging the Moldovan authorities to take all the legally possible peaceful measures to recover the seized ballot boxes. Central Election Commission Secretary Iurie Ciocan stated that the Moldovan authorities would make all the effort to make elections in Corjova possible eventually, and would seek the help of the international organizations to ensure protection in conducting the polls. The electoral preparations in Corjova have been a hot item on the agenda of the Joint Control Commission, with the Transnistrian side opposing vehemently the attempt by the Moldovan authorities to open a polling station in that village, which the Tiraspol separatist government considers to be part of Transnistria. Attempts to hold local elections in Corjova failed twice in June 2007, when the Transnistrian authorities deployed large forces of policemen to prevent people from voting. There were reports that voters were even beaten and the polling stations vandalized.