The voters abroad are urged to register beforehand online or on paper for the February 24 parliamentary elections more actively. The Association “Promo-LEX” made such a call, arguing the  registration beforehand can influence the number and location of polling places abroad, IPN reports.

“Promo-LEX” calls on the citizens of the Republic of Moldova who will not be in the country on the election day to register in advance by filling out a registration form online on www.alegator.md, in the rubric “Registration beforehand”, or by submitting an application signed individually or collectively to the Central Election Commission or to Moldova’s embassies and consular offices.

The voters can register in advance by January 9, 2019. According to experts of the Association, even if the number of voters registered beforehand is only one of the five criteria specified by the legislation, the analysis of the number of persons registered in advance shows the location and number of polling places established in electoral constituencies abroad can be influenced by the activism of voters.

The analysis of the location and number of polling places established outside Moldova that was published by “Promo-LEX” on October 16, 2018 was based on the number of 2 448 voters who registered beforehand. By January 3, 2019, 7,945 voters registered in advance, up 5,497, and these were mainly in European states situated westwards Moldova.

According to the Association’s calculations, if the other indicators remain intact and the number of voters registered beforehand increases, the distribution of polling places in constituencies will undergo changes. For example, for single-member constituency No. 50 (states located westwards Moldova), the number of polling places will rise from 88 to 92, for single-member constituency No.51 (U.S. and  Canada) – from 17 to 14, while for single-member constituency No.49 (states situated eastwards Moldova) – from 45 to 44.