The Party “Building Europe at Home” (PACE) requests the Appeals Court to annul the Central Election Commission’s politically motivated decision to establish 146 polling stations outside the country and to oblige the Commission to set up 220 stations abroad, primarily in regions where there are many Moldovans, IPN reports.
In a news conference held in front of the Chisinau City Appeals Court, the party’s secretary general Nadejda Tatarchuk argued that when the number of polling stations for the Moldovans abroad was determined, the CEC ignored the realities in the two rounds of the presidential elections of 2020 and the recommendations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, which proposed establishing 191 polling stations outside the country.
According to the PACE, the analysis of the voting process at the presidential elections showed that long lines formed at many of the polling stations abroad and the voters had to wait for four-five hours to be able to cast their ballots. In the presidential runoff, 11 polling stations ran out of ballots before their closure. “Moreover, the CEC allowed to be politically influenced, in the interests of the EBCS, when it decided to establish 139 polling stations outside the country and then increased the number by seven,” stated Nadejda Tatarchuk.
The PACE noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration recommended establishing 191 polling stations, but this number is also insufficient. Another argument is that the number of voters who preregistered for the July 11 elections is by 67% higher than at the previous elections. “More polling stations are needed in the regions where there are large communities of Moldovans,” concluded the party’s secretary general.
