Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections launched

Seven non-governmental organisations came together to create the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections Coalition 2007 today – “Coalition 2007”. The Coalition’s activities will be strictly non-partisan and will include short-term and long-term observation of the election campaign; monitoring media coverage of the elections; and civic education for voters and the public servants who conduct elections. The seven organisations - Association for Participatory Democracy (ADEPT), Center CONTACT, the League for Defence of Human Rights, the Association for Moldovan Legal Clinics, the National Youth Council of Moldova, the Independent Journalism Centre and the Association of Independent Press - will unite their efforts to monitor General Local Elections this year, as a key democratic element contributing to Moldova’s European integration. The seven founding members created the Coalition Council – Coalition 2007’s governing body. The Coalition is open for new members – representatives of non-governmental organisations from Moldova that will sign the Charter for Free and Fair Elections and will follow the principles of Coalition’s Regulation. They are welcome to contact the Secretary in order to apply for membership. The Central Election Commission, international organisations supporting the democratic elections process and independent media outlets both from Moldova and abroad are welcome to participate as observers. The League for Defence of Human Rights, the Association of Independent Press and the National Youth Council of Moldova are elected by the Council as members of the Executive Committee, which is in charge of Coalition’s current activities. The Council appointed Mihai Godea, Executive Director of CONTACT Centre, as Secretary of the Coalition 2007. Previously, at the Parliamentary elections held in 2005 in Moldova, the Coalition 2005 had been created on May 12, 2005, at the initiative of 12 NGOs. The Coalition aimed at ensuring free, fair, transparent and democratic elections. About 200 NGOs had further joined the coalition. The Coalition 2005 observed the electoral process, activity of media during and after elections, organised civic and electoral education actions. The Coalition 2005 was financially supported by the US Embassy, Embassy of Great Britain, Eurasia Foundation, Soros Foundation, USAID, SIDA, National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, National Endowment for Democracy, OSCE, the Government of Holland.