Transnistrians do not have conditions to participate in voting

The Moldovan authorities will not be able to open polling stations, for the April 5, on the left bank of the Nistru, so the population from the Transnistria area will not be able to exert its voting rights for the fifth parliamentary election in a row. The issue of enabling the Moldovan citizens from the area controlled by the break-away authorities was discussed at the Press Club on February 12 in Chisinau. The attending experts shared the idea that it will not be possible to organize the elections on the left bank, as some of them blamed the the Chisinau authorities for not even making the necessary efforts. The Central Election Commission (CEC) made all it could – announced the opening of polling stations on the right bank, where the residents of the left bank can come and vote. Even though there may have been undertaken other measures, the result would have been the same – the Transnistrian authorities would not have permitted to open polling stations, said Igor Botan, an analyst with a Chisinau think tank. According to Botan, if Chisinau had addressed an official request to Tiraspol, it could have been treated by the break-away authorities as recognizing their state formation. Promo Lex association president Ion Manole had another opinion. He said the authorities had done nothing during four years to ensure the respect for human rights of the Transnistrian residents, including the right to vote. “The present actions are somewhat delayed. The electoral right does not imply only casting your ballot,” he said. Grigori Volovoi, the president of a Bender-based NGO, said Chisinau should however address Tiraspol to open the voting stations. “Chisinau says it does not make such requests because it does not recognize the authorities from there. But how does it negotiate with them?” he asked. Break-away leader Igor Smirnov stated in Moscow on Thursday that he would not hamper the people willing to participate in the April 5 elections. He added Tiraspol got no request from Chisinau to open polling stations. In the 2005 parliamentary elections, some 3,000 residents of Transnistria voted in polling stations on the right bank. According to experts, there are some 400,000 potential voters in the area.