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Twenty-two out of the 101 members of the Parliament elected on April 5, whose mandates will be validated by the Constitutional Court (CC) the next days, will have to make a choice between parliamentary seat and second citizenship, according to knowledgeable CC sources. They will have to submit an official confirmation to the CC that they applied for the renunciation of second citizenship, shall they choose the parliamentary seat. The problem of lawmakers who hold a double citizenship could be settled, should the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) make a decision in this respect before the validation of mandates by CC. The Chamber is now considering the application by Moldova’s Government against a previous ECHR decision which allows holders of double citizenship to be members of the Parliament as well. At the same time, no date for an ECHR decision in this respect is available. (Source: Infotag)

The Party of Communists (PCRM) claims that it has got complaints from electors who said that the opposition intimidates them for having voted or not. The PCRM asked the Court of Appeal not to allow the opposition to make copies of the electoral lists. According to the PCRM, the lists include personal data which should not be disclosed. The opposition describes this accusation as lie. The Court of Appeal was due to make a decision in this regard on Monday, April 13, but finally postponed the examination of this application. (Source: stireazilei.md)

As many as 250 voters cast their ballots on April 5 while they were at a resort in Vadul lui Voda in reality, and many other people voted on the basis of illegal documents. These are the first violations discovered by representatives of the PLDM, PL and AMN who are checking electoral lists. Although the parties do not have access to all lists for the time being, they say that hundreds of people have committed flagrant violations during the voting. The AMN representative to the Central Electoral Commission, Nicolae Railean, told journalists that some of the recorded violations will be shortly presented, with the file containing names of people who have died some years ago but voted on April 5. (Source: stireazilei.md)

The municipal councillor on behalf of the “Moldova Noastra” Alliance, Oleg Cernei, considers that the investigation of what has happened in Chisinau by an international mission is of utmost importance. He denied that he would have been an organiser of the violence in front of the Parliament and Presidency. Cernei told a press conference that prosecution bodies did not summon him. According to Cernei, the violence was not part of a coup d’etat scenario. “It was a provocation by intelligence services, state authorities, it was a direct manipulation of some protesters who came there with peaceful plans,” Cernei stated. According to the municipal councillor, Moldova could face a civil war, should authorities not mediate the conflict inside of society. “It is inevitable, if this conflict is not stopped,” Cernei feared. “I call upon the chief of state, prime minister, chairman of the Parliament to bring the social consensus which President Voronin promised in 2001. This national consensus is needed in these conditions to calm down the spirits and not to strain the situation,” Cernei recommended. (Source: Info-Prim / Omega)

The police have held 19 children who participated in the April 7 riots. Relatives, classmates and friends have appealed to the Children’s Ombudsperson in connection with the fate of another 10 children who they think have been held by the police. Three children are held in the prison No. 13, and another one at the General Police Department of the Chisinau municipality. Other children are in custody at home, Children’s Ombudsperson Tamara Plamadeala has reported. (Source: Info-Prim)

The leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Dumitru Braghis, has expressed concern with the parliamentary election fraud, which strained the social-political situation in Moldova to maximum. Braghis told a briefing on Monday, April 13 that the Chisinau governing has resumed the scenario implemented after the 2005 parliamentary elections, when it accused Russian secret services of involvement in the electoral campaign. “This action isolates Moldova internationally and seriously deteriorates its image,” the PSD leader feared in connection with the April 7 riots and accusations brought by outgoing President Vladimir Voronin. In order to return to a normal political competition, the PSD asks the PCRM to release the Internet, stop intercepting telephones and opening private correspondence of people, stop broadcasting video records which instigate fear and uncertainty. As well, the PSD seeks the participation of the Russian and Romanian presidents in establishing an international group to investigate the post-electoral developments and find solutions to the social-political crisis in Moldova, with the consent of the Chisinau authorities. (Source: Info-Prim)

The ballots of the parliamentary elections will be recounted in one day only, on April 15. Such a decision was made by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Moldova. CEC chairman Eugen Stirbu told journalists after a CEC sitting that “the CEC has approved the vote recount procedure.” He noted that the process will involve all bureau members of polling stations. Under the CEC decision, ballot papers will be brought from territorial law courts to polling stations in the morning of April 15. On that day, all the votes will be recounted, protocols will be issued and the ballot papers will be brought back to law courts, while the vote recount protocols will be sent to constituency commissions. The CEC compeled the constituency commissions to send the protocols to the CEC before April 16. It was earlier supposed that the vote recount will involve only members of constituency commissions like in 2001, when this process lasted 10 days. This time, about 20,000 persons from all polling stations (1,977) will participate in the vote recount process like on the night after elections. Representatives of parties and observers will monitor the vote recount. (Source: Infotag)

The Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM) will not participate in the vote recount. PDM chairman Dumitru Diacov made this announcement at a press conference on Monday. He suggested that the communists initiated the vote recount to get the 61st seat of parliamentarian, which would allow them to elect a chief of state alone. “The participation of opposition in the vote recount would give legitimacy and credibility to the process,” the PDM leader said. At the same time, Diacov noted that it does not means that the PDM would call on all opposition parties to do the same. “Everybody must assess the situation alone and make necessary decisions,” he stated. Diacov believes that the main problem rests with checking the voter rolls rather than with recounting the votes, as the lists are supposed to have been issued with grave violations. He thinks that early elections will not be held, added that both the opposition and the governance would like to take over their parliamentary mandates as soon as possible. (Source: Infotag)

The Central Electoral Commission asks people not to let alleged CEC members who demand information about their participation in voting to manipulate them. CEC secretary Iurie Ciocan said that the CEC is concerned with the operation of a group of unidentified individuals who visit voters at home and check how they voted. The Commission notes that it did not deploy anybody to check the way the voters cast their ballots. It warns the population that providing such information is voluntary, not mandatory. According to Ciocan, political parties, electoral contestants are free to check the fairness of voting procedure, but not to endanger the secrecy of the vote. (Source: Moldpres)

Chisinau Mayor-General Dorin Chirtoaca has called upon international organisations to help protect the rights of people held by police after the protests in capital. According to Chirtoaca, the human rights are seriously violated in Moldova after the April 7, 2009 protests, when the Parliament and Presidency headquarters were stormed. “Both participants in the storming and peaceful protesters and people who did not participate in the protests including journalists are arrested. The police intervenes, kidnaps people from street, high schools, universities, hostels. The inmates are cruelly beaten, face an inhuman and degrading treatment,” reads the appeal, which features some pictures of people who claim that the police have tortured them. It notes that “more than 800” people have been arrested, while a number of 200 is formally announced. Chirtoaca asks the international community to get involved and stop the inhuman and degrading treatment, the torture in detention facilities; halt the terror, kidnapping, threats and intimidations; ensure the access of lawyers, NGOs and media outlets to detention facilities; guarantee the rights of inmates; inform about holdings and charges; punish those who committed these abuses. (Source: Appeal by Chisinau mayor)

The Gagauz People’s Assembly (APG) has raised “serious concern with the worsening internal political situation in Moldova after the April 5 parliamentary elections”. According to a statement, “extremist actions, provoked by certain political forces and taken by young people from Chisinau who destroyed the Presidency and Parliament buildings have thrilled the entire nation and risk to destabilise the social-political situation in country.” “The Chisinau developments are a clear proof that both democratic institutions and all statehood of Moldova were endangered,” the APG said. Gagauz lawmakers call on political forces from Moldova “to give up extremist actions when the difference between nations is manifested and not to allow any attempt on constitutional order of the republic.” (Source: Infotag)

A committee for free and fair elections in Moldova was established in Bucharest and brings together several organisations of youths from Moldova (Organisation of Bessarabian Students in Bucharest, League of Bessarabian Students in Bucharest, Association of Bessarabian Students and Schoolchildren in Bucharest, Social Expression Group of Bessarabian Youths), as well as several Romanian NGOs. The committee will “coordinate the campaign of internationalisation of the grave situation produced by the Chisinau communist regime.” The committee addressed an open letter to EU and US embassies in Bucharest, European Parliament, European Commission and Council of Europe, signed by approximately 20 NGOs from over the Prut, demanding as follows: the release of all the arrested people and appropriate healthcare for the injured persons; the invalidation of the April 5 election results; repeated elections held under the observation of the Council of Europe, European Union, US, Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Turkey, Bulgaria. (Source: Infotag)

A young group has built the website www.votat.eu “to detect frauds in the April 5 elections in Moldova.” According to a communication, the website “comes to help find electoral frauds from April 5, 2009.” “There are serious doubts that died people and persons who were not at home voted for the Party of Communists. The voter rolls which included 2,598,875 voters raise concern. The voter rolls for the 2005 parliamentary elections included 2,270,668. Where the 328,207 voters came from since Moldova’s population is on decline. The most interesting thing is whom did these 328,207 electors vote?” reads the communication. (Source: Infotag)