Voting rules for Moldovans abroad won't change

The Moldovans residing or working abroad will be able to vote in the July 29 parliamentary elections only at the polling stations opened at the Moldovan diplomatic services, just like in the previous elections. Vladimir Turcan, a Communist top-list candidate, has stated at a news conference on Thursday the established prescript isn't “A Moldovan invention, but an international rule”. Turcan's statements came after the Council of Europe's rapporteur for Moldova, Josette Durrieu, advised the Moldovan authorities to respect the right to vote of the Moldovan expatriates. “Only the territory of the Moldovan embassies abroad is considered Moldovan soil, there and only there the laws of our country are respected”, declared Turcanu. Grigore Petrenco, another candidate on the Communists' list, says the number of Moldovans who vote abroad is increasing from poll to poll, from 3,804 voters in 2001, to 16,766 in April 2009. Petrenco also said that the number of polling stations at the Moldovan embassies in these eight years also rose from 15 to 33. Grigore Petrenco went on to add that the speculated figure of 1 million of expatriate Moldovans is unfounded. People in Moldova will have a day off on Wednesday, July 29, when the parliamentary elections are scheduled, a privilege their compatriots abroad won't have. “We hope the turnout at overseas polling places will be similar to that registered on April 5”, said Vladimir Turcan, arguing that most Moldovans abroad are employed in businesses which don't follow strict schedules. Turcan added that mobile booths wouldn't be used either. According to him, the practice of using such booths in the 2001 elections in the Moldovan communities not serviced by diplomatic missions, like the Romanian towns of Iasi, Cluj and Timisoara, proved 'vicious'. “If that happens, there will be more accusations of vote rigging hurled at us”, said the Communist candidate.