Promo-Lex: Referendum went smoothly, but with numerous irregularities

After monitoring the September 5 referendum, the association Promo-Lex declared the plebiscite was conducted in a calm atmosphere, but there were identified numerous violations at polling places, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a news conference on September 6, Promo-Lex head Ion Manole said a large part of the poling places were inappropriately prepared. On the day of the referendum, representatives of the electoral offices went out of the polling places for indefinite periods of time. Such cases were reported in Briceni district and the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia. Other violations include the improper distribution of the ballots, the use by one voter of several ballots, the presence of names of dead persons in the electoral rolls. Such cases were recorded in Cimislia, Balasenesti (Briceni) and Chisinau. The monitors also reported that representatives of the polling places in Ialoveni and Chisinau banned taking pictures and filming inside the stations. Also, there were election posters near the polling stations and this is against the law. According to Ion Manole, the electoral authorities and the local public administration must penalize the members of the electoral offices who did not fulfill their duties. A clear mechanism should be worked out for preventing vote rigging. Another recommendation is to create the necessary voting conditions in the Transnistrian region by establishing electoral offices on the right bank of the Nistru and providing units of transport for conveying the voters to the polling place. Promo-Lex jurist Pavel Postica said the number of persons who vote under additional lists is rather high and this shows that the registers of voters are inaccurate. Promo-Lex counted the votes in the 300 polling places monitored by it. The difference between the data presented by the monitors and those announced by the Central Election Commission is lower than 1%. According to the association, 88.47% of the referendum participants voted in favor of amending the Constitution, while 12.23% - voted against. The voter turnout announced by the Central Election Commission was 29.05%, lower than the required level.