Elections in plain words from IPN: what documents can be used to vote. The citizens in the elections held in the Republic of Moldova can vote with the identity card of the citizen of the Republic of Moldova with the accompanying loose-leaf that confirms the voter has the domicile or residence in the area covered by the polling place. The Moldovans can also vote with the temporary identity card (form No.9) with the mentions concerning the Moldovan nationality and the holder’s domicile.

Soldiers vote with the soldier’s permit that is issued after they are drafted, at the polling place situated near their military unit and in the parliamentary elections vote only in the national constituency. If they have the domicile or residence in the single-member constituency where they do the military service, they can also vote for candidates in this constituency as well.

The Moldovans abroad vote with the passport of the Republic of Moldova or the sailor’s permit at polling places established outside the Republic of Moldova. Those whose identification papers expire on the election day will be able to vote without impediments.

The students with the right to vote who study at an education institution in a locality where they do not have the domicile or residence in the parliamentary elections can vote at polling places in the constituency where the education institution is situated, but are obliged to present the identity card with the accompanying loose leaf and the student’s card of the education institution.

If the voters cannot go to the polling place within the area of their valid domicile or residence, they can ask, before the election day, two types of right to vote certificates for the parliamentary elections of February 24.

The operation to set free the two Moldovan pilots who had been held hostage in Afghanistan since 2015 was carried out for political reasons. “We can now say that they haven’t been set free as they are still held in places about which we are not aware. At least our officials didn’t gain access to the hospital or the place where the two are now and cannot discuss with them. This shows the operation was conducted for purely electoral, political reasons and this has nothing to do with the wish the set free the pilots. A purely political goal is pursued – to show that only the President defends citizens’ interests and the fate of these pilots depends only on him,” Ruslan Shevchenko stated in the talk show “Issue of the Day” on Canal 2 channel.

“International observers attended the meetings of President Igor Dodon with citizens, but none of these underlined any campaigning act on the part of the President in favor of the Party of Socialists,” stated jurist Sergey Mishin, who is the President’s adviser for interethnic relations and runs for MP on the list of the Party of Socialists. Sergey Mishin wondered if the involvement of secretaries of state of ministries and representatives of local public authorities dressed in clothes with the emblem of the Democratic Party in the PDM’s caravan does not represent use of administrative resources.

Three parties would enter Parliament as a result of the vote in the national constituency. These are the Party of Socialists (PSRM) that would gain 43.8% of the poll, the electoral bloc ACUM with 23% and the Democratic Party (PDM) with 22.7%. The research authors anticipate the Shor Party, for which 5.4% of those polled would vote, could also enter the legislative body given the margin of sampling error and the concentration of this party’s voters. The poll was taken by Date Inteligente SRL (iData) during February 6-13.

As to the bills for which the Government assumed responsibility earlier this week, including those that refer to salary rises, the head of the electoral staff of the Democratic Party Vladimir Cebotari said no motion was introduced into Parliament so that the given bills will come into force immediately. If President Igor Dodon refuses to promulgate them, they will request the Constitutional Court to launch the procedure for suspending the President from office. If the opposition comes to power, we will return to the period of political chaos and instability when foreign investors will flee the country or will not come.

At the end of 2018, over 50 representatives of civil society, the mass media and the private sector requested the authorities to declare 2019 the year of the fight against corruption. But the authorities ignored the request. Recently, NGOs signed a statement by which they plead for declaring 2019 the year of the fight against corruption. The signatories remind that the last Public Opinion Barometer revealed that more than 90% of the citizens are not satisfied with what the administration does to fight corruption, while 35% place corruption among the top three things that concern them the most.