LADOM says July 29 elections were partially free and partially fair

The League for the Defense of Human Rights of Moldova (LADOM) says that the July 29 early legislative elections were partially free and partially fair. LADOM made the assessments, basing on the negative trends and electoral violations identified by the League’s observers, Info-Prim Neo reports. {The elections were partially fair because the electoral registers were inaccurate, there were more voters than the number of ballots allotted, ballot papers were brought from outside, etc. They were also partially free as the access to polling places of the Moldovan voters from the left bank of the Nistru, of the students and of the Moldovans that are abroad was limited,} LADOM said. The League’s report on the monitoring of the voting process was presented at a news conference on Saturday. The president of LADOM Paul Strutzescu said that the people showed increased interest and actively participated in the July 29 elections, despite the erected barriers – holding of the elections on a workday, lack of conditions for facilitating the right to vote of the students, Moldovan voters abroad and Transnistrian voters. According to Paul Strutzescu, the number of irregularities at the July 29 elections was larger than at the April 5 elections, but the final decision on the validation of the elections will be made by the Constitutional Court. Strutzescu said that the most frequent irregularities identified by the LADOM observers and reported through the hotline by voters concerned the inaccurate electoral rolls, which contained dead persons, persons who do not live at the indicated address, the same voters written several times. In many cases, persons who were mistakenly registered in other dwellings than their own already voted and put their signature when the real owners of the dwellings came to vote. Strutzescu stressed that the votes in some polling places might be recounted if the League’s observations are approved. The spokeswoman for LADOM Rima Placinta said that the League’s observers reported cases when the voters were influenced by members of the electoral commissions in their choice, when persons tried to use several identity cards, to vote without identification papers or to vote with foreign passport or soldier’s record. In a polling station, there was a vase with three roses on the table of the members of the electoral commission (three roses is the symbol of the PDM – e.n.). Fingerprints were put on the identity card instead of the “Voted” stamp. Some persons used photo cameras in booths as they probably were obliged to show who they voted for. Representatives of the PCRM were campaigning near the polling station No. 56 in Slobozia-Mare village of Cahul district on the election day. Afterward, they served alcoholic drinks to persons. Five or six women were waiting that those persons pay the promised 250 lei for the vote they cast in favor of the PCRM. A member of the PCRM served wine to the voters in Bogzesti village of Telenesti district, 50 km from the polling place. He urged them to vote for the Communists, Rima Placinta said. LADOM expert Ion Creanga said that the League’s observers were prevented from fulfilling their duties in some of the polling stations. He stressed that they submitted all the complaints to the Central Election Commission. According to the LADOM’s parallel vote count, the PCRM gained 45,18% of the ballot, the PPCD – 1.94%, the AMN – 7.42%, the PL – 14.17%, the PLDM – 16.31%, the PDM – 12.67%, the PSD – 1.9%, while the PEAVM – 0.41%.