The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova considers that the crowdedness at the two polling stations established in Russia was created artificially in order to jeopardize the electoral process. In a press release, quoted by IPN, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns the Russian authorities and any entities about the unacceptance of illegal transportation of voters to polling stations.
The MFA noted that it anticipated the possibility of crowding, as a result of attempts to organize the illegal transportation of voters to polling stations. At the same time, in the process of preparing the electoral exercise, it warned the Russian authorities about the attempts of particular entities to transport citizens to the stations housed by the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Moscow.
According to the Ministry, the polling stations in the Russian Federation opened at 07:00 a.m. local time and work normally. The polling stations were provided with the maximum number of ballots – 5,000 for each station. The decision to open polling stations in the Russian Federation only inside Moldova’s Embassy was taken due to “the incapacity to meet all the security requirements in other cities/locations so as to ensure that there are no dangers for the citizens who will come to vote and for the electoral officials who will ensure the organization of the process,” said the MFA.
Moldovan citizens in Russia formed queues at the two polling stations opened at the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova, according to the Russian press. People expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that only two polling stations were established in Russia as they had to travel thousands of kilometers to be able to exercise their right to vote.
