Run-offs held today in over 500 locations across Moldova

Voters in Chisinau municipality and in other 511 communities are expected today at the polling stations to participate in runoff mayoral elections. Stations will be open from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm, Info-Prim Neo reports. A total of 1,295 polling stations are open across the country, with a total of 1.7 million ballot papers being issued, including 614,000 for Chisinau. People are allowed to vote upon producing an identification card (buletin de identitate), a Soviet-type passport, or Form no.9, a temporary identification document which is issued on election day specially for this purpose. Students who have reached 18 years of age vote at the place of domicile or residence. The people who, for objective reasons, cannot come to the polling station, may request to have a mobile box being brought at their home. Written applications may be submitted until 3:00 pm, with a medical certificate accompanying them. Only blind people may submit requests orally. Also, people with limited vision may vote with the help of assistants. In Chisinau, the office of mayor is contested between Communist Igor Dodon and Liberal Dorin Chirtoaca, who in the first round polled 48.07% and 46.51%, respectively. In the current runoffs, 15 political parties have a total of 963 candidates, as follows: The Liberal Democratic Party – 311 candidates, The Democratic Party – 243 candidates, The Communists' Party – 240 candidates, The Liberal Party – 124 candidates, The Christian Democratic People's Party – 11 candidates, The Republican Party – 9, The National Liberal Party – 5, The 'Third Force' Bloc – 4, 'For Nation and Country' Party – 4, The Social Democratic Party – 4, The 'Green Alliance' Party – 3, The Socialists' Party – 2, The 'Law and Justice' Party – 1, 'Our Home is Moldova' Party – 1, and The Centrist Union Party – 1. Also, there are 61 independent candidates participating in the runoffs. The budget for the second round of the current local elections is 19 million lei.