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May 20, 2018

Time: 22:30

 Promo-LEX Observation Mission found the following irregularities in the voting process in the time interval of 18.45 to 21.00:

Restricted access or obstruction of a free observation process in the polling station – 1 case.
PS 2/4, Balti. The observer wanted to shoot a troublesome situation in the voting process, but the president of the PS did not allow this.

Presence of advertising materials, posters, election boards within the area of the polling station (100 meters of the PS) – 2 cases.
PS 2/42 Balti. A candidate ‘s advertising posters were noticed within 100 m of the PS.
PS 2/37 Balti. A candidate ‘s advertising posters were noticed within 100 m of the PS.

Ballot boxes have not been sealed as provided by the legal procedures – 1 case of ballot boxes with broken/ damaged or missing seals.
PS 1/163 Chisinau. It was found that 3 stationary ballot boxes have only one seal each and the mobile box also has only one seal.

Unjustified presence of unauthorized persons in the polling station, or within 50 m of the polling station – 5 cases.
PS 16/42 Jora de Mijloc. At a distance of 25 m from the entrance to the PS, a candidate for the mayor’s office of the village was seen discussing with 2-3 people.
PS 1/231 Chisinau. An MP representing the party of a contender, was present in the PS. He spent 5 minutes in the PS. All this time he talked to his party observer. At a certain moment, other observers and president of the EBPS asked him to present a document, allowing him to be in the PS for a longer period, to which he presented his ID card and said that it gives him this right. After some contradictions, the person left the PS.
PS 1/139 Chisinau. An unauthorized person helped EBPS members to gather the materials in the polling station. At the Promo-LEX observer’ intervention, it was said that the person was the driver, who would transport the bags to the Constituency Council (CC).
PS 1/17 Chisinau. An unauthorized person (the guard of the institution in which the PS is opened) assisted in the counting of votes.
PS 1/168 Chisinau. After the closing of the PS, at 21.26 p.m., a non-authorized person, an MP representing the party of an election contender, entered the PS premises. He spent a few minutes there, then left.

Electioneering  or bad PR within / or near the polling station to determine voters’ choice – 2 cases.
PS 1/47 Chisinau. An observer, representing one of the contenders, loudly told a voter for whom to vote, when the voter came to exercise his voting right.
PS 16/43 Jora de Mijloc. A car of LADA model with the registration number OR AA 901, was seen carrying voters to the polling station at least 4 times.

Acts of violence or intimidation of voters or of other people – 4 cases
PS 1/101 Chisinau. A voter tried to vote without the ID card supplementary card. The EBPS president did not allow this, therefore, the person became aggressive and argued. Police intervention was required to force the aggressive person leave the PS.
PS 1/81 Chisinau. Having voted, a drunk voter asked to see the voters’ lists to check if his family members were included in the lists. Being refused by the president, he made a row. The policeman was notified and the voter was forced to leave the PS.
PS 1/285 Chisinau. Having taken the ballot from the EBPS members, a voter sat down on a seat in the PS (instead of going to the voting booth). At the request of an EBPS member to go to the voting booth, he refused and cursed the person, then tore the ballot and left the PS. The EBPS president stated that the ballot was canceled.
PS 2/31, Balti. Observers of a contender, as well as representatives of a public association, verbally attacked the CEC operators, claiming they falsified votes and hid information from observers. Promo-LEX observer claims that there was no evidence of this, and he had access to all the information. The conflict was resolved, but the observers asked the Promo-LEX observer to give them his contact details for any eventuality (he refused to offer such details).

Faults in the voters’ lists (address discrepancies, deceased voters, signatures made instead of other people) – 15 cases.
PS 1/54 Chisinau. A voter was not identified in the SIAS Elections system, nor in the basic voters’ lists. As a result, he voted on supplementary lists.
PS 1/168 Chisinau. A voter identified two foreign persons registered at his address.
SV 1/128 Chisinau. A voter identified 5 foreign persons registered at his address. The woman says that several years ago, she went to the passport office to clarify this situation, but in the elections, these people appear on the voters’ lists.
PS 1/302 Chisinau. A voter was not found in the basic voters’ lists. Given that the data of his ID certified compliance with that PS, the voter was included in the supplementary lists.
PS 1/45 Chisinau. A voter identified a deceased person in the basic voters’ lists (he also presented a copy of the death certificate).
PS 2/48 Balti. A voter was not found in the basic voters’ lists. Having presented evidence from the ID, the person was included in the supplementary lists.
PS 2/4 Balti. A voter was not on the basic voters’ lists and was included in the supplementary lists.
PS 1/152 Chisinau. A voter identified a foreign person registered at his address.
PS 1/267 Chisinau. A voter identified a foreign person registered at his address.
PS 1/70 Chisinau. A voter identified a foreign person registered at his address. He says he lives in that apartment since 1990s and does not know who that person might be.
PS 1/139 Chisinau. A voter identified that unknown persons are registered at his address.
PS 1/153 Chisinau. A voter was not found in the basic voters’ lists, he was allowed to vote, being included in the supplementary lists.
PS 1/85 Chisinau. A voter noticed that her neighbor, who lived on 4 Onisifor Ghibu St., ap. 41,and  died 15 years ago, was still on the voters’ lists.
PS 1/76 Chisinau. During the election day, 10 people were not found on the basic voters’ lists and were included in the supplementary lists of the PS.
PS 1/118 Chisinau. A voter came to vote to the PS 118, where he had previously voted, but was referred to another polling station (PS 117).

Taking photos of the voting ballots – 8 cases.
PS 1/41 Chisinau. A voter photographed his ballot. Following  an observer’s remarks, he deleted the pictures.
PS 2/17 Balti. A voter photographed the ballot, but at the request of the EBPS president, he deleted the photo.
PS 2/5 Balti. A voter photographed the ballot, refusing to comply with the EBPS’s request to delete the picture. When the voter was leaving the PS, the police intervened. As a result, the picture was deleted.
PS 1/281 Chisinau. A voter photographed the ballot. At the request of EBPS members, the photo was deleted.
PS 1/65 Chisinau. A voter photographed the ballot.
PS 1/2 Chisinau. A voter photographed the ballot. The photo was not deleted because the voter left the PS too fast.
PS 1/17 Chisinau. A voter photographed the ballot, at the request of the PS president, he deleted the photo.
PS 1/183 Chisinau. A voter photographed the ballot, the EBPS members made some remarks, but the voter did not react.

Voting with deficiencies while presenting  ID documents – 3 cases.
PS 1/135 Chisinau. Two voters, mother and son (with a disability), presented themselves to vote without identity documents. Given that he knows them personally, the president of the EBPS allowed them to vote. ID data were taken from the basic voters’ lists.
PS 1/248, Chisinau. A voter was registered in the SIAS Elections, in the absence of ID supplementary card. When attempting to sign up and receive the ballot, he was told that he could not vote in the absence of a supplementary card. However, the SIAS Elections system recorded him as having exercised his right to vote.
PS 1/87 Chisinau. Two voters came to vote, presenting as a confirmation of their identities the agreement on the sale and purchase of a house in Chisinau; they have their residence visas in Sangera. The president of the PS said they had to vote in Sangera. The voters threatened to return with the media.

Cancellation of unused ballots before closing the PS – 3 cases.
PS 1/140 Chisinau. The president and secretary of the EBPS decided to start canceling unused ballots, went into a separate room together with a contender’s observer.
PS 1/41 Chisinau. At 8:40 p.m., the president and other EBPS members began canceling the remaining ballots.
PS 1/17, Chisinau. PS members began cancelling unused ballots at 8:30 p.m.

Others – 2 cases
PS 2/3 Balti. One and the same mobile ballot box was removed twice from the PS, first, to be taken to the hospital and then to people’s domiciles. Both times when it was removed records were made.

PS 1/69, Chisinau. A voter voted in the morning and then returned with a visually impaired woman. Going past the observer of an election contender, he told the observer that he had accomplished what he was expected to. The voter waited for the woman and took her ID to check if it was stamped. During the day, several people passed by the candidate’s observer and reported him on the vote.

The Promo-LEX observation mission of the new local elections of May 20, 2018 monitors the elections through 8 long-term observers (LTOs) in the seven constituencies established. On the day of the elections, Promo-LEX delegated a short-term observer to each polling station in the constituency. Observers involved in the monitoring process signed the Promo-LEX Independent National Observatory’s Code of Conduct, committing themselves to act promptly, in good faith and in a non-partisan manner. The activity of all the observers is coordinated by the central team of the Association.

The activity of Promo-LEX OM is supported financially by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The opinions expressed in the Promo-LEX public reports belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funders.

For more details, please contact:
Axenia Chirilov, Communications Officer of Promo-LEX Association;
GSM 060168314, e-mail: [email protected]