The Central Election Commission (CEC) does not have instruments to exert influence on the mayors who refuse to establish polling stations on the left side of the Nistru, jurist Ștefan Gligor stated in IPN’s public debate “Election rigging: how it is done, how to fight it”. He noted that the CEC can try and force the mayors to establish polling stations, but these cannot be punished by law. The legislation does not clearly specify such a situation.

According to Ștefan Gligor, the actions of the mayors of the localities situated close to the administrative border with Transnistria are due to their unwillingness to take part in the violation of the legislation. “The previous years, these persons saw hundreds of buses that transported thousands of persons to polling stations. They realized that the persons brought this way had no idea where they came and they just knew that they must influence the result of the elections, being directed by their coordinators. But these mayors can counteract the violation of the criminal legislation that stipulates up to five years in jail for such an offense,” he stated.

“The CEC didn’t elucidate the events of 2016 and 2019 and didn’t draw conclusions after the previous elections. No one was held accountable, but now they established 42 polling stations for the residents of the Transnistrian region. What can the mayors be reproached for in such a situation?! Only the CEC, the Ministry of the Interior and the PGO can be reproached.”

The public debate “Election rigging: how it is done, how to fight it” was held as part of the mini-series “We and the President: who elects who, who represents who?” that is part of the project “Developing political culture through public debate” that is implemented by IPN with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation.