The election campaign environment is mostly characterized by a geopolitical division between pro-Europe and pro-Russia, but it is not in the mandate of the Assembly’s pre-electoral delegation to assess the geopolitical preferences in the Moldovan society, said a pre-electoral delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that visited Chisinau to assess the election campaign and the preparations for the Presidential election to be held on 30 October 2016, IPN reports.
According to the delegation’s Statement, it noticed that, no matter the geopolitical sensibilities, a number of long-standing serious concerns, identified in the Parliamentary Assembly’s resolutions and election observation reports still remain unaddressed. In particular, the lack of results in the fighting against corruption; the obscure system of funding of political parties and election campaigns including external funding; the monopolization of many media outlets and lack of transparency concerning their sources of funding; and the role played by oligarchic structures in the country’s political life, especially in the electoral process.
The pre-electoral delegation was also informed about the involvement of the orthodox churches in the election campaign of some candidates. In this regard, the delegation recalls that the principle of separation between state and religion institutions must be respected.
The Assembly’s delegation calls on the relevant authorities to take the necessary steps to ensure equal campaign conditions for all registered presidential candidates.
The Parliamentary Assembly will send a 22-member delegation to observe the Presidential elections on 30 October 2016.
