Court rejects AMN’s request to oblige CEC to open polling stations abroad

The Chisinau Court of Appeal rejected the request of the Moldova Noastra Alliance (AMN) on Wednesday, February 25, to oblige the Central Election Commission (CEC) to open 20 additional polling stations abroad. The AMN announced it would sue the decision in the higher court, Info-Prim Neo reports. The AMN had asked the court to cancel the CEC’s refusal to set up 5 polling stations in Romania, by 3 in Italy, Russia, Ukraine, the USA, 2 in Portugal and 1 in Ireland. Judge Lidia Bulgac rejected the AMN’s request as having “no legal support.” The writ can be sued in the Supreme Court of Justice within 3 days. “We shall certainly sue the decision because we stay on the same position,” a representative of the AMN, Nicolae Railean, stated. He said that the AMN would address to ECHR after exhausting all the hierarchic ways in the local courts. Nicolae Railean maintains that the electoral legislation permits the CEC to open polling stations abroad and outside consular offices and embassies, but there is no political will in this way. “We believe that the legislation allows and even obliges the CEC to open polling stations outside the country. Article 29, paragraph 14, of the Election Code says that the CEC has the right to constitute polling stations not only within the diplomatic representations. And article 2, paragraph 3, reads that the diplomatic missions outside the country are obliged to create equal conditions for all citizens who are in those countries,” Nicolae Railean siad. On the other hand, CEC member Pavel Midrigan finally said that CEC is not empowered to open polling stations abroad, outside consulates and embassies: “All relations with other countries are the competence of the Government by means of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.” Pavel Midrigan says that article 29, paragraph 14, of the Election Code provides for constituting such stations in other places than those initially provided, in case of calamities. The CEC member looked satisfied with the court’s decision. “We consider it is a law-based decision,” Pavel Midrigan said. The Liberal Democratic Party from Moldova (PLDM) announced that it had sued the authorities’ refusal to open polling stations outside Moldova, besides those of embassies and consulates, at the ECHR. According to official data, over 300 thousand Moldovan citizens are abroad. The unofficial data show a number of over one million. Moldova has about 30 diplomatic representations abroad.