Moldovans will go to the polls on October 20 to elect the country’s president and simultaneously vote in a referendum for a constitutional amendment that enshrines Moldova’s aspiration to eventually become a EU member.

At the polling place, voters will have to produce one of the following forms of identification: an identity card or provisional identity card, a passport (expired ones are also accepted), or a student identity card in the case of voters studying in areas other than their formal place of residence.

Those who are not registered in the main voter roll at the polling station that corresponds to their actual domicile, will also need a certificate issued by the polling station according to their formal place of residence, which will enable them to cast their ballots anywhere in the country.

Over 2,000 polling stations will operate across Moldova and abroad. They will open at 7:00 a.m, according to each country’s time zone.

After the ID is presented, an operator will run it through the electoral database and, if everything is in order, the voter will be directed to the polling officials entrusted with the voter roll and ballot papers.

To receive the ballot papers, the voter will have to sign next to their name in the voter roll, the main one or supplementary one, as the case may be. The officials will then issue two ballot papers. The first one, of a smoky gray shade, will be with the list of presidential candidates. The second, purple in color, contains the options for the referendum. Voters will have to answer “Yes” or “No” to the question “Are you for amending the Constitution to pursue accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union?”.

Voters will then go to the booth and affix “voted” stamps next to their choice. Importantly, only one candidate and only one referendum option may be chosen. If the choice is not clear or multiple choices are made, the ballots will be cancelled.

In a first for our country, Moldovans in the United States, Canada, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Norway will be able to vote by mail. Almost 2,000 people received their ballots by post, including for the potential presidential runoff.

Filled in ballots for the first round of the presidential election and the referendum are to be sent in prepaid envelopes to polling stations opened at diplomatic missions in the U.S., Canada and Sweden, and voters must make sure that the envelopes reach their destination by the last Thursday before election day, 18:00.

The polling stations will close at 21:00, then the counting of votes will begin. However, in case queues form, polling stations may remain open for two extra hours.

In case the second round of the presidential elections will be held, the procedures will be the same, but the voters will receive a single ballot, with the names of the two candidates who accumulated the most votes in the first round. It will be steel blue in color.