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Institute for Public Policy presented the results of the opinion poll “Barometer of Public Opinion, November 2010” (BPO), which show new eventual electoral scores. In the form it was presented, BPO consists of some variants for estimating the votes received by some political parties at parliamentary elections to be held on 28 November (percents out of the din total population sample, percents related to the sub-population sample formed by the decided persons, percents out of the sub-population sample “I am absolutely sure that I will attend elections”):

• PCRM — from 25.6% to 37.1%
• PLDM — from 21.4% to 31%
• PDM — from 9.9% to 14.3%
• PL — from 8.6% to 12.5%

According to the same estimations, PCRM could receive from 33 to 39 parliamentary mandates, LDPM — from 33 to 37 parliamentary mandates, DPM — from 16 to 17 parliamentary mandates, and PL — from 13 to 14 parliamentary mandates. Trust in political personalities is presented in the following sequence:

• Vlad Filat
• Vladimir Voronin
• Marian Lupu
• Mihai Ghimpu
• Dorin Chirtoaca

About 62.6% of the respondents would vote for joining EU if a referendum is organized on this issue, only 12% stand for joining NATO and over 28% do not know or do not answer when questioned what should they do to ensure the security of the country. The BPO survey was performed on the site by the Institute of Marketing and Surveys (IMAS-INC Chişinău), from 17 October to 7 November 2010, on a population sample of 1104 adults, with a maximum error of +3.0%.

According to the decision adopted by the Central Election Commission (CEC), voters domiciled in the localities from the left bank of Dniester River (Transnistria), in Bender town and some localities of Căuşeni district, which are out of the control of constitutional authorities of the Republic of Moldova, will be able to vote during the parliamentary elections in 21 polling stations, 3 out of them being established in Chişinău city, and 18 — in the riverside localities to the Transnistrian region (Floreşti, Rezina, Ştefan Vodă, Anenii Noi, Căuşeni and Dubăsari districts). Respective voters will be entered into additional lists when presenting their identity cards that testify the domicile or residence of the person in the concerned locality from the Transnistrian area, and “TAU from the left bank of Dniester River” will be write down in the “Note” column. CEC appealed to national and international observers and the Unified Control Commission to monitor the peaceful development of the electoral process within polling sections distributed to the voters from the left bank of Dniester River. (source: CEC)

Central Election Commission returned the documents for starting a referendum on the officialization of Russian language in Moldova, reasoned that the procedure to conduct a referendum to amend the Constitution is regulated by two legal acts simultaneously: Election Code and Act No.387-XV of 19 July 2001 on the people initiative to review the Constitution. The initiative group lodged the documents at CEC on 19 September and is represented by the mayor of Comrat town, Mr Nicolai Dudoglo and Mrs Ana Harlamenco, Chairperson of People’s Assembly of TAU Gagauzia.

The Mission of observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) got acquainted with the activity of the electoral councils of Chisinau and Balti, of electoral bureaus situated on their territories and noted the open and transparent character of the electoral bodies’ activity. According to the observers, the electoral bodies develop an active campaigning to attract citizens to attend elections, for this purpose advertisements are broadcasted, posters urging to participate in the electoral campaign are spread, invitation letters where are indicated the addresses of the polling stations are submitted to voters, it was started the process of checking the lists within the electoral bureaus. (source: Novosti-Moldova Agency)

Central Election Commission has warned the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM) for distributing seeds of parsley, onion and carrot with party’s symbol and slogan. CEC ascertained the violation of the provisions set forth in the Election Code relating to the expenditures financing and free distribution of goods (a situation known in practice as “corruption of the voters”).

The Centre for Independent Journalism made public the results of the fourth stage (1–7 November 2010) of monitoring how the main media outlets in Moldova cover the electoral campaigning for early parliamentary elections. According to the conclusions of the report, the situation in the broadcasting field attests:

• increasing in the number of advertisement materials (by nearly 43% compared to the previous period);
• Moldova 1 and Radio Moldova public stations had a balanced covering of the electoral campaigning, succeeding to ensure the pluralism of opinions both in newscasts and through special electoral emissions and free air times.
• at Radio Moldova, LDPM and LP representatives benefited of many appearances in newscasts of indirect electoral nature;
• the private channel with national covering Prime TV reflected the campaign preponderantly in news editions and opinion emissions, it may be noted a slight favour towards the DPM;
• NIT private channel continues its open political partisanship in favour of the PCRM electoral contestant;
• the private channel with national covering 2 Plus continues to reflect passively the campaign, providing people with summary information on the electoral contestants and their electoral platforms and does not perform fully its duty to inform the public;
• the channel with regional covering N4 was more active in covering electoral issues during the news editions, ensuring the pluralism of opinions, LDPM representatives were mostly presented within a positive context;
• at the news channel Publika TV there is no evident favouring tendency for some electoral contestant, but, according to the frequency of contestants appearance in a negative context, it is observed a slight disfavouring for PCRM;
• the news channel Jurnal TV presents the electoral contestants preponderantly in a neutral manner, but it is noted a favouring for NPP and disfavouring for PCRM.

In written press/ News agencies/ Web portals increased the number of materials that cover the electoral campaign and the surface distributed for the publication (by nearly 18% compared to the previous period). Generally, the written press continues to mediatise the electoral campaign from the perspective of the electoral contestants it sympathises or upon whom depend their owners and editors, in some cases the promotion being extremely evident (the web-site: www.omg.md, the newspapers Nezavisimaia Moldova and Moldova Suverană are openly favouring PCRM). In the newspapers Timpul de dimineaţă and Jurnal de Chişinău, Panorama, Evenimentul Zilei, Gazeta de Sud, Flux it is noted a disfavouring of the PCRM, instead working editorially in advantage of liberal-oriented parties and non-Communist parties in general. News agencies Infotag, Moldpres, the web portal www.unimedia.md respect the principle of diversity of sources and opinions, proving a certain degree of sympathy for electoral contestants that share the liberal doctrine. (source: the Report of the CIJ no.4)

Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM) was accused by the PCRM candidates of using illegally personal data of citizens, submitting to them personalised letters and requesting data about their relatives. CEC denied the appeal, and PLDM representatives declare that all actions made by the party comply with the legislation and sending written messages to the voters is a well-known international practice.

The Press service of the Liberal National Party (PNL) spread a communiqué that criticizes hardly the messages delivered by the ex-Communist MP Victor Stepaniuc where the last requests the Constitutional Court to declare PNL unconstitutional and to make it illegal, because it appeals to Union with Romania. PNL argues its unionist message and affirms that thus it disturbs the entire mafiotic and corrupt political spectrum in the Republic of Moldova. (source: PNL)

CEC could not sanctioned PCRM for illegalities in campaign funding, because the Centre for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption (CCECC) heard the persons included in the financial report of the PCRM as donors and they confirmed that made these donations, even if previously the relatives of many of them declared that they cannot have such income. CCECC did not succeed to get in touch with 2 young men from Anenii Noi, who donated 250 thousand Moldovan lei each. (source: Jurnal de Chisinau)

The Acting President Mihai Ghimpu criticised toughly the Minister of Internal Affairs Victor Catan, because he denied media access to the store where the files of the victims of political repressions are kept. Ghimpu also criticized Prime Minister Vlad Filat and declared that the Treaty on the border regime between Moldova and Romania was signed by abuse of office and thus the Treaty is “illegal and non-constitutional”.

The Press service of the PUM declares that the results of the “Barometer of Public Opinion” survey, carried out under the aegis of the Institute for Public Policies (IPP) are not credible, because the IPP director, Mr Arcadie Barbăroşie “involves himself actively in politics, makes public his sympathies for the Liberal-democratic governance and cannot be considered a non-affiliated politically expert”. According to PUM, the objective surveys of the competent and non-affiliated politically experts demonstrate that the rating of the Party is increasing and it will be represented in the future Parliament.

The Chairman of the PUM Valeriu Pasat declares that “the Transnistrian problem may be solved only by reintegration into the Eastern area”, and the address made to NATO and the request to withdraw Russian army from Moldova “deepened more the blockage of conflict settlement”. The declarations were made by Valeriu Pasat during a meeting with the voters in TAU Gagauzia. Pasat also underlined that the PUM is categorically against Moldova’s joining NATO and insists upon maintenance of the neutral status of the state, by proposing the two-stages integration of Moldova into the Eastern area — at the first stage — economical integration through joining Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union, and then — to set up a political union with the former Soviet republics, following the example and principles of the European Union. (source: PUM)

Although the businessman Leonid Volneanschii registered himself initially as an independent candidate, he joined the Humanist Party of Moldova (PUM) and will stand for parliamentary elections to be held on 28 November on its lists. In 2009 elections, the companies led by Volneanschii were among the main PCRM sponsors. (source: Deca-press)

Although it does not participate in campaign, the Party of Socialists of Moldova “Patria-Rodina” (PSM) urges many electoral contestants to withdraw their candidatures from the electoral course for 28 November parliamentary elections in favour of the parties that deserve to pass the electoral threshold. PSM considers that the Alliance for European Integration may maintain its power only by means of votes it will receive after the distribution from the electoral contestants that will not pass the electoral threshold. To avoid this, PSM sent letters urging many electoral contestants to withdraw from the electoral campaign: People’s Republican Party, Social Political Movement “Ravnopravie”, Moldova’s Patriots Party, Republican Party, Social Democratic Party, Conservative Party, Labour Party, “United Moldova” Party, Social Political Movement of Roma People, Humanist Party of Moldova, the independent candidates Valeriu Pleşca, Victor Stepaniuc, Evghenii Nazarenco, Maia Laguta, Tiatiana Ţâmbalist, Elena Burghilă-Leonte and Natalia Axionova. According to the PSM representatives, only the parties that enter the Alliance for European Integration and the Party of Communists of Moldova, which is in the opposition, should remain in the electoral course, thus the population will not be disoriented. (source: Info-Prim Neo)