The citizens of the Republic of Moldova who are eligible to vote are expected to cast their ballots and elect the President for a four-year term on November 15. They can choose between the Party of Action and Solidarity’s candidate Maia Sandu and independent candidate supported by the Party of Socialists Igor Dodon. Polling stations are open between 7am and 9pm, IPN reports.
A number of 2,143 polling stations were established for the presidential elections. Of these, 139 are intended for citizens of the Republic of Moldova who are abroad, while 42 polling stations for the persons with the right to vote from the Transnistrian region, Bender municipality and some of the localities of Căușeni district. Three polling stations will have a special working program. The polling station in Strasbourg will be open between 7am and 8pm, the polling station in Baku will work between 7am and 6pm, while polling station No. 1/442 in Budapest will open at 7am and will close at 7pm.
On Moldova’s territory, the citizens can vote with the identity card and the accompanying loose leaf that confirms the domicile or residence on the territory of the polling station, with the temporary identity card issued by the multifunctional centers of the Public Services Agency, which work on the election day too, between 7am and 9pm. Voting is also possible with the soldier’s permit or the permit issued by the Civil Service Center in case of alternative civil service.
At the polling stations established abroad, the Moldovans can vote with the passport of the citizen of the Republic of Moldova, including expired ones, the identity card of the citizen of the Republic of Moldova and the sailor’s permit.
The elections are monitored by national and international observers accredited by the Central Election Commission. The observers accredited for the first round of the presidential elections of November 1 can continue work at the runoff vote. For the November 1 presidential elections, the CEC accredited over 2,000 observers. Additionally, 185 observers were credited for the runoff, with 23 of them being international observers. Forty-one observers on behalf of NGOs and electoral contenders will oversee the elections at out-of-country polling stations.
Given the pandemic, the voters will present themselves at the polling stations with own pens and will wear masks in closed places. The persons who will not be able to travel to polling stations, including those who will have symptoms of acute respiratory infections, will be able to vote at the place of stay after filing an application to this effect on the election day, until 3pm.
If voting at the place of stay is not possible, but the person has signs of disease, this will be able to vote at the polling station by being given priority way to the polling booth and having minimum contact with the members of the electoral commission. When the person leaves, the room will be disinfected.
In the runoff vote, the elections are declared valid regardless of the voter turnout. The candidate with the highest score is declared winner. If both of the candidates get the same score, the candidate who gained more votes in the first round emerges victorious.
