alegeri.md

The Center of Continuous Education in the Elections Field (Centrul de Instruire Continuă în Domeniul Electoral, CICDE), in partnership with the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), opened a Call Center with a single telephone number (+373) 22 880101, which will operate between 21 October and 08 December 2014. According to the CEC, Call Center operators will provide necessary help to the persons responsible for voter lists within local public authorities and to members of inferior electoral bodies in order to ensure uniform application of procedures for managing the State Register of Voters. // CEC

The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections presented the first report on monitoring mass media during the electoral period, produced by the Association of Independent Press (AIP), the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) and the Electronic Press Association of Moldova (APEL). The general conclusion is that Moldovan mass media continue providing selective coverage of the electoral campaign, depending on the likes and dislikes of each outlet. The project involved monitoring of 35 media outlets: 8 newspapers, 10 Internet portals, 12 TV channels and 5 radio stations.

None of the newspapers complied with the required plurality of sources in materials involving a conflict, and the majority of online portals had deficiencies in terms of plurality of sources and impartiality. As for televisions, they broadcast 760 news items of electoral nature, and 27.3% of them involved conflicts. Radios, unlike other media, broadcast more materials of electoral education and were less partial. // IPN

A group of members and supporters of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM) protested in front of the OSCE headquarters and sent to Michael Scanlan, Head of Mission, an address about the electoral process in Moldova. The address mentions replacement of Soviet-type passports, lack of an electoral register, restriction of the opposition’s access to mass media, lack of transparency in the funding of the governing parties, etc. Socialists also remind about the Government decision to open only five voting precincts for Moldovan citizens working in the Russian Federation.

Igor Dodon, head of socialists, signed at the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) the Code of Conduct for the carrying-out and coverage of the electoral campaign for the parliamentary elections of 30 November. In this context, Igor Dodon said that the CEC initiative to sign the Code of Conduct is welcome and that the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM) had been the first contestant in this electoral campaign to sign it.

The head of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), Mihai Godea, is convinced that the high electoral threshold is the origin of all evil in Moldovan politics and that its lowering does not suit the governing parties. According to Godea, the current electoral threshold of 6% for political parties and 2% for independent candidates significantly reduces the chances of simple citizens to participate in public affairs. // politik.md