The Central Election Commission (CEC) denies the accusations that it does not obey the legal provisions on election campaign funding. It noted that it issued a circular addressed to political parties in order to clarify particular norms contained in the electoral legislation on the issue following the examination of financial reports of initiative groups in support of candidates for office of President, where the Commission identified violations of the allowed caps, IPN reports.
“The Election Code provides that the electoral contenders in the parliamentary and local general elections are the parties or electoral blocs that proposed candidates for elective posts. In the presidential elections, only the person nominated for President has the status of election runner. In such conditions, the political party or electoral bloc does not identify itself with the candidate and any financial support by a political party for the candidate it fielded must be in line with the conditions applicable to legal entities, in the limit of the set cap – 12 monthly average official salaries for the given year,” says a press release issued by the CEC after PAS leader Maia Sandu asked to annul the circular. The politician said this is a new fraud planned by Igor Dodon and Maxim Lebedinschi, by which the parties would be banned from financing the campaign of candidates in the upcoming elections.
The CEC noted that in the presidential elections of 2016, the candidate for President also had an identity different from party and electoral bloc, but the cap on donations at that stage was much higher, up to 400 monthly average official salaries. The reduction in the caps on the financial support for political parties and electoral campaigns was made by amending the electoral legislation in August 2019, on the initiative of the political party that now makes unfounded accusations against the CEC, runs the press release.
“The statements according to which donations can be made only starting with October 1 are false. The account with the mention “Electoral Fund” can be opened before the registration of the electoral contender, on condition that any withdrawals from this account are made after the contender is registered. The two electoral contenders that were already registered by the CEC can open a bank account and can receive donations and make payments through this”.
