The number of Moldovans from abroad who will take part in this autumn’s elections will be lower compared with the parliamentary elections of 2009 and 2010 owing to the limited access to information sources. Such opinions were stated in the program “Fabrika” on Publika TV channel, IPN reports.
Vice director of the Institute of Legal and Political Research of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova Victor Juc said there are several decisive factors determining the participation of the Moldovans from abroad in elections: the organization into associations; the information level; the distance up to the polling place and the legality of the regime of stay.
“The organization of the diaspora into associations is very important. Through the agency of associations, the Moldovans from abroad are informed about the developments in their native country and are mobilized to take part in the elections. As regards the access to information, the Moldovans from the diaspora can inform themselves through the Internet. But not everyone prefers this source of information. They do not yet have access to the national TV channels providing information about the election runners and their platforms. The distance up to the polling place is also important. A Moldovan from Orenburg will not go to Moscow to vote or a Moldovan settled in southern Italy will not go to vote in Rome. As to the legality of the stay, this refers mainly to the Moldovans working in Russia. Many of these will not go to vote for fear of being expelled,” stated Victor Juc.
Expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiative Cornel Ciurea noted that fewer polling places will be established in Russia than in the EU member states. “It is known that the Moldovans from Russia usually vote for parties of the left, while those from the West support the parties of the right. Thus, an imbalance appears,” he stated.
Sociologist Victor Mocanu said that a large part of the Moldovans who settled abroad lost interest in the events taking place in the native country. “These people detached themselves from Moldova’s problems and cannot be lured by slogans about the European integration as they are already in the EU,” he argued.
Making a telephone call during the program, a representative of the Moldovan diaspora from Italy said that a large part of the Moldovans from this country do not know even the date of the elections, not speaking about the election runners. “65% of the over 150,000 Moldovans working in Italy are women. Most of them wok as caregivers in private homes and do not access the Internet because they do not have time or are not allowed by the employers. On nonworking days, they prefer to go to the church, not to diaspora meetings,” she said.
Almost 1,700 people have registered online by October 20, informing that they want to vote abroad. More than 500 statements were submitted by Moldovans who are in Russia.
