The legislation of Moldova allows amending the electoral system in an electoral year. But the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matter, adopted by the Council of Europe, provides that the electoral legislation should be modified at least one year before elections, secretary of the Central Election Commission Andrei Volentir has told IPN.

According to him, the modification of the method of distributing the seats is an essential change in the electoral system. The Council of Europe does not approve of such changes if they are made less than a year before the elections.

In December, the Communist MPs said that Head of Parliament Igor Corman requested the Venice Commission to appraise an electoral initiative concerning the switchover to a joint electoral system in Moldova. Andrei Volentir said the MPs didn’t ask for the central electoral authority’s opinion about the modification of the electoral system.

The joint electoral system provides that every voter can cast two votes – one for the list proposed by parties and one for a candidate, as in the majority system.