Constitutional law experts said the Appeals Court’s judgment concerning the necessity of establishing at least 190 polling places for the July 11 elections intended for the diaspora is courageous and in the interests of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. For their part, MPs of the PPPDA say this victory wouldn’t have been possible without the contribution of the party’s jurists. The Socialist MPs say it is at the discretion of the Central Election Commission to decide exactly the number of polling stations intended for the diaspora, IPN reports.
The representatives of the PSRM adopted a neutral attitude in relation to the Chisinau City Appeals Court’s judgment. According to them, the ball is now in the court of the CEC, which is to determine the number of polling stations depending on the number of persons who preregistered on the institution’s website.
“We consider the necessary number of polling stations should be established so that the citizens can vote both on the territory of the Republic of Moldova and abroad. As we have the experience of the previous elections, have a particular number of citizens who registered to vote in particular stations, the competent bodies should decide the number of polling stations. This is the prerogative of the CEC,” Socialist MP Adrian Lebedinschi stated in the talk show “Natalia Morari’s Politics” on TV8 channel.
Constitutional law experts said the deadline by which the official number of polling stations was to be decided wasn’t met.
“Under the law, the polling stations are opened both in the Republic of Moldova and outside the country not later than 35 days before the elections, in an ordinary situation. But there can be exceptions. The polling stations abroad work for a day only, on the election day. That’s why the argument that a challenge filed to the Chisinau City Appeals Court wasn’t envisioned by the CEC and the Electoral Code can be taken into account. This decision of the Appeals Court is not definitive,” said constitutional law expert Teodor Cârnaț.
At the same time, the representatives of the PPPDA said the annulment of the CEC decision is their merit as their party was the one that insisted on the replacement of some of the judges of the panel.
“It’s a pity that a lot of individuals now use the work of the PPPDA to attribute particular merits to themselves. We raised the exception of unconstitutionality in relation to the polling places in the Transnistrian region and the victory is ours now too. If particular judges hadn’t been replaced, it’s not known if we had such a decision,” said PPPDA MP Vasile Năstase.
Yesterday, the Chisinau City Appeals Court obliged the CEC to establish at least 190 polling stations for the July 11 snap parliamentary elections outside Moldova’s borders. The CEC can challenge the decision in the Supreme Court of Justice.
