Moldovans could not vote ‘against all’ in 2009 legislative elections either

The option ‘against all’ will not be included in ballot papers in the 2009 parliamentary elections either, the secretary of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Iurie Ciocan has told Info-Prim Neo. According to Ciocan, the Commission cannot include such an option in the ballots because this is not stipulated in the Election Code. “The Code should stipulate this as well as what happens in the situation when 50% + 1 of the votes are cast against all of the candidates,” Iurie Ciocan said. The CEC secretary says that such a stipulation exists in the countries where the vote is an obligation, not a citizens’ right. “In such countries as Greece, Italy, the Netherlands or Austria, the people are obliged to go to the polls. Otherwise, they are administratively or legally punished. At the same time, they have the right to support no candidate and vote against all of them. In Moldova, the vote is a right, not an obligation,” Ciocan said.