The Election Code of the Republic of Moldova in Article 76 says the facts defined in Article 181 of the Penal Code are considered violations and are punished criminally.
Under Article 181 (1) of the Penal Code, the offering of money, goods, services or other benefits for the purpose of determining the voters to exercise or not to exercise the electoral rights in the parliamentary, presidential or local elections and at the referendum is punished with a fine of 25,000 to 42,500 lei or one to five years in jail. The legal entity is punished with a fine of 200,000 to 300,000 lei and is banned from performing particular activities or the legal entity is liquidated.
The voters cannot be offered alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and food products. Instead, the electoral agitation objects paid from the electoral fund that bears the name and surname of the candidate, respectively the name of the political party, signs or symbols of the electoral contenders are permitted. Among these are posters, brochures, postcards, calendars, notebooks, illustrations, pens, lighters and matches, flags, books, bags, T-shirts and scarves that cost not more than 100 lei apiece.
The heads of electoral bodies and other persons holding responsible posts are obliged to inform the prosecution bodies or the internal affairs bodies about actions that contain constitutive elements of an offense in the organization and holding of elections or the financing of political parties and election campaigns the second working day of the moment of ascertaining at the latest.
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The IPN division “Elections in plain words” is designed to explain notions, terms and practices related to the parliamentary elections based on the mixed electoral system and the consultative referendum that will take place on February 24, 2019.
