Even if the new version of the Electoral Code does not contain a chapter on electronic voting, the authorities say they do not give up implementing this instrument. The chairwoman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Angela Caraman, in the podcast “In essence...” on RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service, stated that e-voting could be tested in the local elections of the autumn of 2023, IPN reports.

Angela Caraman said the CEC adopted a concept on electronic voting. An action plan was worked out and specifications are to be thought up and debated publicly. After the software is deigned, testing and auditing will follow and the system will be introduced on a trial basis. In the optimal variant, electronic voting will be tested in this autumn’s elections.

The CEC head noted that the ballots for the next elections will be printed in the Romanian language. At the request of the local electoral body, ballots can be also printed in another language than the official one. “It is the same formula than the one that is applied now. A lot has been speculated and this is regrettable. The ballot now contains the candidate’s name, surname and affiliation to a party,” stated Angela Caraman.

Following dissatisfaction expressed in Comrat over the non-acceptance of the request to offer five seats of MP in Moldova’s Parliament to Gagauzia, which was made when the new Electoral Code was being discussed, the CEC chairwoman said that for this to be possible, the electoral system needs to be modified as the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia already has an own representative authority – the People’s Assembly.

Angela Caraman noted in the podcast that the Moldovan multiparty system enables the Gagauz politicians to register a party so as to be able to run in parliamentary elections alongside other political organizations.