The number of out-of-country polling stations for the presidential runoff vote will remain the same. The head of the Consular Affairs Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sergiu Odainic admits that there are risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the authorities are working intensely for all the polling places that were agreed by the Central Election Commission to be established according to the earlier approved list.

“We know and strictly monitor the situation in the European countries, particularly Italy, where a special state of emergency was decreed. The country will be divided into regions by a code of colors, but we will make sure that our citizens there can vote as we have the largest number of out-of-country polling stations there, 30,” Sergiu Odainic stated in the talk show “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova channel.

Asked why the CEC does not accept to increase the number of our-of-country polling stations, the Commission’s secretary Maxim Lebedinschi said these proposals are populist and run counter to the Electoral Code.

“The parliamentary parties should say that the Electoral Code of Moldova, which is an organic, not a simple law, provides that the polling stations are agreed 35 days before the election day, while the electoral bodies, electoral bureaus start to work 25 days before the election day. Why didn’t they make changes?” asked Maxim Lebedinschi.

The two functionaries noted the establishment of the out-of-country polling stations is a real challenge and other states that are much larger than Moldova failed to do this.

“Poland, which is a member state of the EU and NATO, could not open polling stations in Italy, France, Spain, the UK, the U.S., Canada. We, being a small state that does not hold so much interest, could do more than a NATO and EU member state,” stated Lebedinschi.

He noted that the CEC made effort to remedy the problems faced in the first round of voting, but things remain unpredictable as many citizens do not inform that they go abroad by pre-registering on the CEC’s website.

Sergiu Odainic said Moldova’s embassies are making considerable effort to ensure the Moldovans abroad can vote. “Not all the states managed to archive such a result. We, despite being a small country, succeeded in establishing polling places in Germany, which is a very restrictive country, in the UK, France and Italy that are in lockdown”.

On November 1, the CEC informed about crowdedness at out-of-country polling places.

A number of 2,143 polling places were set up for the November 1 presidential elections. Of these, 139 were intended for the Moldovans abroad.