The amendments to the Electoral Code regarding the appointment of Central Electoral Commission members will take effect in 2026, that is, after the term of the incumbents expire. CEC Secretary Alexandr Berlinschi says that from 2026 the electoral authority will have seven members, with all the three branches of government involved in delegating them.
According to the new Electoral Code, the Central Electoral Commission will be composed of seven members, whose activity becomes permanent. Four CEC members will be delegated by Parliament, with the Government, the Superior Council of Magistracy and the President getting to delegate the rest.
“Starting in 2026, new members will be appointed on the Central Electoral Commission. The next CEC will have an individual mandate, that is, members will be appointed for a 6-year term, instead of 5 years today. A member’s term in office will not end with the expiry of the CEC’s term, but will continue regardless of the date of their appointment. All the branches of government will continue to have a role in delegating the next CEC members. We have the legislative, executive and judicial branches. Of the four members to be appointed by Parliament, one member will be proposed by the relevant civil society organizations”, Alexandr Berlinschi said during a Radio Moldova talk show.
Promo-Lex experts welcome the reduction of the number of CEC members and making their activity permanent. However, they point to politicization risks.
“Promo-Lex proposed a similar bill two years ago. In that bill we came up with a similar suggestion of reducing the number of CEC members from 9 to 7 and making the activity of CEC members permanent. We also touched on which institutions would be relevant to delegate CEC members. We proposed that all the branches of government, including the Cabinet and the Judiciary, have the possibility to delegate members. But the political context is different today. We encouraged the CEC to discuss and avoid even the hypothetical situation of the CEC becoming politicized. On the face of it, one would think that this is actually the intention, but let’s not forget that the law takes effect in 2026, we don’t know what the context will be then. It is important that membership is staggered. At the beginning, all members will probably be appointed at the same time, but if one or more leave along the way, it is difficult to anticipate what kind of majority the CEC will have”, Nicolae Panfil, Promo-Lex program director, said.
Today the Central Electoral Commission has 9 members, with 8 being appointed by Parliament based on the proportional representation rule, and one member is appointed by the President.
