alegeri.md

Electors will be able to cast their ballots upon expired identity cards, too, at the parliamentary elections on July 29. The Central Electoral Commission made this announcement on Tuesday, recalling the list of documents which enable citizen to participate in voting. Nationals from other countries whose passports are expired will be also issued ballot papers at polling stations abroad. As well, electors will be able to cast their ballots upon other documents: former Soviet passports from 1974 with the mentioning of Moldovan citizenship, state identity number of holder (IDNP) and registration in real estate card; former Soviet passports from 1974 without state identity number and with the mentioning “valid for an unlimited term”. As well, soldiers will be able to cast their ballots upon military card, identity paper issued by the Civil Service Centre to persons in civil (alternative) service, as well as sailor’s identity cards for citizens who will vote at Moldovan polling stations abroad. CEC recalled to electors who have lost their identity cards that they are able to apply free of charge for temporary identity documents F-9 at population record and documentation services, inclusively on the Election Day, and demand ballot papers after presenting such documents. (Moldpres)

The Central Electoral Commission notes that Wednesday, the 29th of July 2009, the day of parliamentary elections, was declared day-off under Government Decision # 389 from June 26, 2009. CEC has got many signals from employees who said that their employers refuse to give them this day-off or even limit their possibility to participate in voting. In this context, CEC demands necessary conditions, so that all electors to be able to exercise freely their constitutional electoral right on July 29. The commission stresses that any attempt to obstruct the access to voting will be punished in accordance with effective legislation. (CEC communiqué)

Over 2,200 national and international observers of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections — Coalition 2009 will monitor the snap parliamentary elections of July 29, 2009. Through its members — the League for Defense of Human Rights from Moldova (LADOM), the Promo-Lex Association and the Moldovan office of the Eurasia Foundation — “Coalition 2009” will monitor the elections throughout Moldova, including the Transnistrian region. Observers will also work at the polling stations set inside Moldova’s diplomatic missions abroad, reads a press release by Coalition 2009. On Election Day, the Center for Analysis and Prevention of Corruption will take calls at the phone numbers: 080055000, 238431, 238384, from 7 am to 9 pm from Moldovan citizens about possible breaches and questions about voting procedures. (Info-Prim Neo)

If caught campaigning on Tuesday, July 28, and Wednesday, July 29, people may get fined up to 1,000 lei. Under the Election Code, on the day and the eve of the elections, no campaigning is allowed. Only urging people to go and vote is allowed. The fine for electioneering on these days is 200–400 lei for natural persons and 800–1,000 lei for legal entities, specified Tudor Capatana, a press officer with the General Police Commissariat. According to him, all the street advertising was removed till midnight, on Monday. “The police supervised the removal of electoral posters and billboards from over 500 streets of Chisinau”, he said. (Info-Prim Neo)

Moldovan political parties have spent a total of 16.09 million lei in the electoral race to the July 29 early parliamentary elections, the Central Electoral Commission has reported. According to the financial reports which all runners were submitting to the CEC regularly, the highest election spending was made by the governing Moldovan Party of Communists — 3.8 million lei. The Democratic Party of Moldova spent 3.7 million lei, the Moldova Noastra Alliance — 3 million lei, and the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova — 2.2 million lei. During the election campaign, the CEC passed 281 resolutions, including 42 — concerning various petitions and protests, 64 on accrediting of domestic and international observers as well as media representatives. Two resolutions failed to be fulfilled. (Infotag)

Five observers from Russia and Belarus who should monitor the early parliamentary elections in Balti were obliged by the Balti police early on Tuesday to leave the locality. The report was confirmed by the Balti police chief, Colonel Valeriu Poparcea, who said that “the five persons did not have credentials in fact.” Poparcea noted that the five persons were not expelled. Their stay term in Moldova was shortened. “Now the citizens concerned are at their consulates in Chisinau for discussions,” the Balti police chief stressed. Poparcea noted that according to operative reports, the five persons were supposed “to make problems,” inclusively “to organise massive disturbances.” (Deca-press)

Tens of policemen have surrounded a holiday resort in Vadul lui Voda, as several citizens from Russia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan who have arrived in Moldova to monitor the parliamentary elections on July 29 but did not get credentials for this purpose from the Central Electoral Commission were inside. Observers said that policemen have asked them to sign declarations, which oblige them to leave Moldova within 24 hours. Most of foreigners refused to sign the declarations, saying that they will stay in Moldova as tourists, since they do not need visas for this purpose, as the CEC did not give them credentials. Last night, the police held the head of the observance mission of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organisations, Sergei Tkacenko, and a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. Tkacenko was released later, while the other observer will be extradited to Swedish authorities, as he is allegedly wanted. (stireazilei.md)

The delegation of the ENEMO international organization, whose 140 observers have arrived in Moldova to work at the July 29 early parliamentary elections, has decided to quit the republic without delay in protest against the arrest of two delegation members and against Moldovan Central Electoral Commission’s refusal to provide accreditation to 87 delegation members on grounds that they “failed to meet the status of an international observer”. Eleven ENEMO observers from the Republic of Georgia were detained in the Chisinau International Airport on Tuesday morning and sent back to Istanbul were they had just arrived from. An Infotag agency’s source close to the Ministry of Interior said that upon a check of the list of ENEMO observers, the Moldovan law enforcement established that some of the foreign observers had had a direct relation to the so-called “colored revolutions” in the former soviet area as well as in some Balkan states. (Infotag)

The number of infringements committed during the present election campaign was four times lower than in the previous election campaign, the head of the Public Order Department of the Ministry of Interior Petru Corduneanu told a news conference on Tuesday. The Ministry of the Interior adopted a plan of action for maintaining public order in the 1,954 polling places set up in Moldova on July 2009; 500 police officers will ensure public order at the polling stations. By a deputy police commissioner and two assistants will monitor the voting process in every district. The sale of alcoholic drinks near polling stations on the Election Day is banned. “The persons that will break the rules of selling alcoholic beverages will be sanctioned according to the law,” Corduneanu said. Twenty-three violations were identified in the current election campaign, as compared with 89 in the previous one. (Info-Prim Neo)

The Moldovan law enforcement are fully ready for preventing any kind of violence on the Election Day and after it, colonel Petru Corduneanu, Chief of the Public Order Department of the Ministry of Interior (MI), stated at a news conference today. He assured the press the MI disposes of all necessary means and strength to interfere and defend main state institutions from possible violence acts. At the same time, he voiced hope there would be no such developments. (Infotag)

The Party of Communists has appealed to the Central Electoral Commission over some “some fragrant violations of electoral legislation committed by media outlets politically employed by some liberal parties, which made electoral propaganda to advantage certain electoral runners on the day prior to elections, contrary to regulations of the Election Code.” Sergiu Sirbu, PCRM representative to CEC, found out that news portals www.unimedia.md, www.libertatea-ta.md, and periodicals “Timpul de dimineata”, “Jurnal de Chisinau”, “Literatura si Arta”, “Moldavskie Vedomosti” and others published electoral articles on July 28, 2009, contrary to Article 47 (14) of the Election Code. Sirbu noted that PCRM has asked CEC to urgently consider its appeal and notify competent organs in order to reprimand the guilty. (Moldpres)

Unidentified individuals have destroyed more than 20 billboards in the Balti municipality throughout election campaign for the July 29 early parliamentary elections. This is a record number of billboards every destroyed during an election campaign in this locality. Most of the destroyed electoral billboards belonged to the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM). Ion Bodrug, leader of the Balti-based PDM branch, said that some destroyed billboards have been changed three times, but vandals destroyed them every time. Last week, the local police held red-handed five individuals who were destroying a PDM billboard in the downtown. An investigation is underway. (Deca-press)

The Chisinau Court of Appeal obliged the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) to provide the copies of the voter rolls asked by the Alliance of Community Centers for Access to Information and Training of Moldova (Alliance CCAII) as part of a monitoring project. On July 16, the Alliance asked the CEC to issue the copies of the voter rolls from Chisinau municipality and of the rolls of eligible Chisinau voters who changed their place of residence and informed the relevant public administration bodies about the change of address. Galina Bostan, jurist at the Alliance CCAII and director of the Center for Analysis and Prevention of Corruption, on July 20 said that the Central Electoral Commission refused to provide the information that they asked for. The CEC will appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal to a higher court, CEC Secretary Iurie Ciocan has told. (Info-Prim Neo)

The Coordinating Council of civil organizations and political parties of Transnistria has urged all Transnistrians holding Moldovan citizenship to boycott the early parliamentary elections of July 29. The Council’s statements reads that Moldova “is on the way to conscious destruction of the MDR (Moldavian Dnestrian Republic) statehood and the Transnistrian people” and that “the nationalism continues to dominate in Moldova and there is any guaranty that the new pro-Romanian Moldovan leadership will not try to settle by force of arms the problem of relations between Moldova and Transnistria” (Infotag)