A pre-electoral delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that visited Chisinau to assess the election campaign and the preparations for the Parliamentary elections to be held on 24 February 2019 said the election campaign just started and political parties and candidates are in general able to campaign freely. Nevertheless, the delegation was informed by different interlocutors about a number of long-standing concerns which still remain unaddressed, IPN reports.
In particular, cases of intimidation and violence against candidates; cases of hate speech, including against women candidates; cases of misuse of administrative resources; allegations of vote buying; cases of involvement of public employees in the signature collection procedure; cases of distribution of electoral gifts during election campaign events involving charitable foundations associated with certain political parties. For some interlocutors, the use of video-cameras in polling stations can be perceived as a means of pressurizing voters. The Assembly’s delegation condemns such practices in the election campaign and asks the relevant authorities to take all necessary measures to exclude them.
The PACE pre-electoral delegation shares the Venice Commission’s concern stated in March 2018, when it was pointed out that the new mixed electoral system is contrary to prior recommendations. In addition, the delegation was informed that the new electoral system may be too complicated for the understanding of many voters.
The Parliamentary Assembly, in its previous observation reports, expressed concern at the lack of transparency of the criteria to determine the number of polling stations abroad. For many stakeholders these criteria should ensure the voter’s right to participate effectively in the elections. The delegation believes that the increase in the number of ballot papers assigned to each polling station may not solve the problem, if the number and the location of polling stations is not in proportion to the voters living in different countries.
Many interlocutors mentioned the issue of a lack of confidence in state institutions resulting from multiple corruption scandals. This aspect is particularly worrying in a country with a high level of poverty. A considerable proportion of the general public is convinced that corruption is common in the Republic of Moldova and that the judiciary lack independence. With regard to campaign financing, while legal regulations on campaign and party finance have improved and the parties’ election expenditures reports are provided in due form, for many interlocutors, significant financial resources can still be used for electoral purposes without any efficient control by State authorities.
The delegation was informed about increasingly frequent cases of pressure, threats and verbal and physical attacks on independent journalists during the months preceding the elections. Media pluralism can be considered as limited because most of the media are affiliated with the main political parties and the advertising media is under their control.
In Chisinau, the delegation had meetings with the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament, the leaders or the representatives of the parliamentary and extra-parliamentary political parties participating in the elections, the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission, the Chairperson of the Audiovisual Coordinating Council, the Chairperson of the National Integrity Agency, representatives of civil society and the media, and representatives of the international community.
The Parliamentary Assembly will send a 32-member delegation to observe the Parliamentary elections on 24 February 2019.
