Parties mounted a new protest in front of the building of the Central Election Commission, which today revised its decision concerning the number of polling stations that will be established abroad for the July 11 elections. The protesters said the right to vote is a constitutional right that should be ensured also for the Moldovans who are abroad, IPN reports.
The protest was staged after the CEC on July 5 decided to keep the number of polling stations that will be established outside the country at 139, even if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed raising the number to 162.
In the protest, PAS secretary general Andrei Spînu said the PAS suggested establishing 198 polling stations for all those from the diaspora to be able to exercise their right to vote. “On July 11, we should take to the streets and use all the ballots. No matter how many polling stations are opened, we, all those from the diaspora, are obliged to vote at all the available stations,” stated Andrei Spînu.
PAS MP Dan Perciun said that together with the protesters, they struggle for the right of their relatives, classmates, all the Moldovans who had to leave the country to be able to vote. “My father votes in London. At the last elections, he stayed in a row for 12 hours to be able to vote. I have an aunt who votes in France, another aunt who votes in Spain and classmates who vote all over Europe and they all want to vote in the upcoming elections,” stated the MP.
After the CEC decided to supplement the number of polling stations abroad by seven, PAS president Igor Grosu said the party does not give up and will challenge the decision in the Appeals Court so that more stations are established outside the country.
PPPDA also announced that it will appeal the decision.
The Central Election Commission on June 8 decided to increase the number of polling stations outside Moldova’s borders for the snap parliamentary elections of July 11 to 146. The number of polling stations in Germany and the UK was increased by three in each of these countries, to nine and, respectively, to ten. Two more polling places will be established in France and one more station will be available in Italy’s Rimini.
