Transnistrian militia blocks polling place in Corjova

The process of voting in the September 5 constitutional referendum started all over the country at 7am, except the polling place in Corjova village of Dubasari district. Several unidentified persons accompanied by Transnistrian militiamen this morning have barred access to polling place No. 5 and the people cannot vote. The Central Election Commission (CEC) is considering solutions to the problem, Info-Prim Neo reports. CEC secretary Iurie Ciocan said the electoral authority is drafting a decision whereby the voters in Corjova will be allowed to vote in Ustia and Cocieri villages of the same district. According to a communiqué from the CEC, 1,000 voting certificates have been issued for the residents of Corjova, while the polling places established in the neighboring villages were distributed additional ballots. More than 2.5 million people eligible to vote are expected to cast their ballots today. A number of 2,034 polling places will work in Moldova from 7am until 9pm. Seventy-eight polling places were set up abroad. In order to be able to take part in the referendum, the voters must have on them the identity card accompanied by the loose leave that shows the voter’s domicile or place of residence, the Soviet-type passport of the 1974 model, the temporary identification paper F-9 showing the person’s nationality, the passport for entering and leavening the country, the soldier’s record and the permit issued by the Civil Service Center for persons doing civil service. The CEC also allowed voting with the passports and identity cards whose period of validity has expired. The referendum will be overseen by national and international monitors. Its results will be validated if the turnout will be 1/3 of the voters. The head of state will be elected by popular vote only if most of the participants in the referendum will vote in favor of amending Article 78 of the Constitution. Twenty-five political organizations took part in the campaign for the referendum. Sixteen of them campaigned in favor of amending the Constitution, four against, while another four urged the voters to boycott the plebiscite.