Last year’s presidential elections were competitive because there were 12 registered candidates who represented the whole range of political options existing in the Republic of Moldova. These were yet partially free in terms of expression of the vote and formation of an objective opinion about the conduct of elections. Such conclusions were reached by members of the election observation mission of Promo-LEX, which presented an analysis of the presidential elections in a roundtable meeting on January 26, IPN reports.
The analysis team’s chief Igor Bucataru said the elections were partially free because the right to vote of the Moldovans abroad was restricted. The voters’ right to form an objective opinion was limited by black PR and manipulation of the public opinion on the part of election runners. There were also practices to corrupt voters and administrative resources were used in elections. Among the problematic aspects of the presidential elections, Igor Bucataru mentioned the insufficient regulation of the collection of signatures by subscription lists, non-imposition of penalties for voter corruption activities and organized transportation of voters to polling places.
Cornelia Calin, who analyzed the funds of election runners within the election observation mission, said the costs incurred by the initiative groups were hidden in the elections of 2016. Also, transparency in financial reporting was diminished by hiding the jobs of donors in reports.
The mission’s head Pavel Postica formulated several recommendations as regards the elections. He said the necessity of authenticating subscription lists by the local public authorities should be excluded as this measure made the collection of signatures in the diaspora and in the Transnistrian region practically impossible. “When it is about national elections, we consider this filter is inopportune and unreasonable,” stated Pavel Postica.
According to him, the categories of people with the right to collect signatures should be clearly defined. Penalties should be instituted for the collection of signatures by unauthorized persons as it is about personal data.
