Modified Electoral Code adopted in first reading

The Parliament passed the amended Electoral Code in first reading. The amendments allow creating electoral blocs and setting up polling stations in places outside embassies and reduce the election threshold for parties from 5% to 4% and for independent candidates from 3% to 2%, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to Valeriu Nemerenco, chairman of the special parliamentary commission for improving the electoral legislation, 55 articles of the Electoral Code have been modified and several new articles have been added. Valeriu Nemerenco said that a number of proposals submitted by NGOs, political parties and other organizations will be discussed when the document is voted in the second reading. “The amended Code contains a number of recommendations that were made by the Venice Commission in 2007-2008, but were not taken into account then,” Valeriu Nemerenco said. “The polling stations abroad will be opened not only at Moldova's embassies. This is something new for us, but the Venice Commission welcomed this proposal. We suggested that the voting process abroad should last for two days so that all the Moldovans manage to cast their votes.” The modified Electoral Code increases the term during which the Constitutional Court can validate the elections from 10 to 30 days. The group of unaffiliated MPs of the United Moldova Party disagreed with this amendment, saying it is not opportune. Also, the voter turnout in referendums was decreased from 3/5 to 50%. Valeriu Nemerenco also said the Communist MPs stopped attending the commission's sittings after the first meeting.