The observation mission of Promo-LEX identified worrisome tendencies that can affect the organization and conduct of local elections and their outcome. The conclusion was formulated in the second report by the Observation Mission for the General Local Elections of November 5. The report covers the period between September 5 and October 3, IPN reports.

During the monitoring period, the Observation Mission of Promo-LEX ascertained 15 cases of abusive use of the administrative resource, including two cases of use of state institutions to promote electoral initiatives (Government of the Republic of Moldova and mayor of Condrița village of Chisinau municipality). According to Promo-LEX, these cases have the biggest impact on the voters as they imply the adoption of normative documents in different areas.

Only 12 days before the start of the election campaign, on September 25, Prime Minister Dorin Recean announced the government package “Bonus for Moldova”, which includes pay raises and financial bonuses for different categories of public sector employees. Immediately after this package was announced, the ruling party PAS started to promote it in a sponsored way through social media.

Only four days before the start of the election campaign, on October 2, and only one day before being registered as a candidate for mayor of Chisinau, the mayor of Condrița Andrei Donica adopted an order to pay compensation for natural gas to locals retroactively, as from June 7.

The promotion by the Chance Party of the projects “Moldovan Village” and “Moldovan Town”, which were launched by Ilan Shor – the chairman of the outlawed Shor Party – can be considered a case with voter corruption potential.

During September 6 – October 3, 2023, at least 190 electoral activities that can be considered promotion of election contenders were recorded. Among the most common activities was the distribution of informational material of an electoral character (promotion of the designated candidate, candidates’ view on how to develop localities, main problems, the party’s merits to developing locality, etc.) These represented 58% of all the reported activities. Most of these activities involved the PSRM (35%), PAS (20%) and MAN (7%).

Based on the intermediary candidate registration results, Promo-LEX ascertained that the elections are competitive. During the monitoring period, the Chisinau District Electoral Council registered 13 candidates for mayor general, while the Balti District Electoral Council - six candidates. No independent candidate for mayor has been yet registered in the two constituencies.