The runoff presidential election is taking place in the Republic of Moldova. The voting-eligible citizens are expected to go to the polls between 07:00 a.m. and 09:00 p.m. to elect the President who will serve a four-year term in office. The political battle involves Maia Sandu, who is supported by the Party of Action and Solidarity, and Alexandr Stoianoglo, the candidate of the Party of Socialists, IPN reports.
Voters can cast their ballots at 2,219 polling stations, of which 1,988 are available on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, including 30 polling stations intended for the citizens living on the left bank of the Nistru. Voters from the diaspora will exercise their right to vote at 231 polling stations established in 37 countries.
The total number of ballots is identical to that for the first round of voting. As many as 2,819,996 ballots were distributed to the polling stations established in the country and 839,200 ballots to those established outside the country. Ballots were also printed in the languages of national minorities: Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Gagauz, Russian, and Romani. The ballot paper is 14 cm wide and 12 cm long.
The ballot paper for the November 3 election includes the two candidates who obtained most votes in the first round of voting:
Maia Sandu, nominated by the Party of Action and Solidarity
Alexandr Stoianoglo, nominated by the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova
The voting-eligible citizens, both from the country and from abroad, can vote with the identity card of the citizen of the Republic of Moldova, and the document must confirm the domicile or temporary residence of the voter within the area of the polling station. Also, electors can vote with the temporary identity card with mentions about the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova, the domicile or temporary residence of the holder, or with the passport of the citizen of the Republic of Moldova, including with an expired period of validity.
Students who got the vote, who do not have registration at home or temporary residence in the locality where they are studying, can vote at any polling station opened in this locality, being obliged to present the identity document and the student card of the educational institution of that locality.
On November 3, the multifunctional centers of the Public Services Agency issue free temporary identity cards to voters who do not have identity documents. All the multifunctional centers work according to a special program, between 07:00 a.m. and 09:00 p.m..
The voters who, for health or other reasons, cannot go to the polling station can request the mobile ballot box from the electoral office. On election day, requests can be made in writing until 02:00 p.m., if a medical certificate is presented. Applications submitted for the first round of voting are not valid for the runoff.
For the first time, postal voting has been piloted in six states – the U.S., Canada, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland. Almost 1,800 Moldovans registered to vote by such a method.
On election day, campaigning is prohibited. It is not allowed to carry out or cover electoral activities and distribute electoral materials. The candidates are banned from appearing in television or radio shows.
The election is monitored by national and international observers accredited by the Central Election Commission. Observers accredited for the first round of voting can continue their election observation and monitoring activity in the runoff vote. For the first round of voting, more than 2,000 observers were accredited.
Over 2.7 million voters were included in the basic voter rolls. The runoff election is declared valid if at least one fifth (1/5) of the persons put on the rolls vote in it.
Polls close at 09:00 p.m. However, the electoral office can decide to extend the voting deadline by no more than two hours in order to allow voters standing in the line at the polling station to mark their ballot.
