More polling stations should be created there where the persons formed lines and waited long to cast their ballots on the election day, but didn’t manage to vote. The proposal to increase the number of polling stations abroad, including in the Russian Federation, formulated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova, is thus clear, Veaceslav Berbeca, political commentator of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives ”Viitorul”, stated in IPN’s public debate “Particularities of election campaign 2021: traditions and new tendencies”.

According to Veaceslav Berbeca, geopolitics cannot be excluded from a political message. That’s why the issue started to be used widely again, owing to the Bloc of the Communists and the Socialists, “All the citizens in the Republic of Moldova want to live in a developed state, either they are pro-European or pro-Russian. They are under the influence of political messages and a lot depends on the way in which the political parties reach the ordinary citizens. No matter what the political parties do, society is divided from geopolitical viewpoint and some are yet nostalgic for the USSR. What these parties do when they enter Parliament matters a lot,” he said.

The expert noted each party tries to mobilize the voters, including those from the diaspora, so as to obtain more votes. “The unionist parties haven’t been present in Parliament for a long period of time even if opinion polls show a large part of society is for the union with Romania. The unionists will possibly not be present in the future Parliament as they are far from forming a united bloc,” stated Veaceslav Berbeca.

The political commentator believes the Party of Action and Solidarity would have had more chances if it had formed a bloc with other parties of the right, like the ACUM bloc, and it would have been able to form a parliamentary majority in the future Parliament. The number of votes won by Maia Sandu in the presidential elections of 2020 could be projected at the snap parliamentary elections of July 11.

According to Veaceslav Berbeca, few election contenders have so far pronounced on the local public administration reform that envisions the decentralization and local self-government that should become a priority of all the political players that aim to enter Parliament.
 
The public debate “Particularities of election campaign 2021: traditions and new tendencies” is the 187th installment of IPN’s project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.