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10:00 am, 12 June 2015 // Chisinau

Promo-LEX Association presented the observation results with regards to the opening of polling stations this morning. According to the observers, the General Local Elections take place normally, though some violations of the electoral process have been reported. The data were collected from over 1400 Promo-LEX observers. A summary of the findings is presented below.

Polling Stations Infrastructure

• Polling station (PS) 59, Sangerei d., does not have a landline phone;
• PS 44, Chisinau mun., is located on the second floor and does not have the necessary conditions for persons with disabilities to vote;
• PS 19, Criuleni d.,  internet service interruptions, a Moldtelecom team is performing repair works;
• Three PSs (PS 83, Chisinau mun.; PS 44 and 46, Floresti d.) the voting booths are located too close one to another, which could lead to a failure to ensure secret voting.

Polling Stations Opening

– At least eight PSs opened five minutes earlier (PS 18, Gangura v., Ialoveni d.; PSs 273, 115, 149, 128, Chisinau mun.; PS 6, Calaras t.; PSs 32, 10 Causeni d.);

– At least 11 PSs opened with a delay up to 10 minutes (PS 35, Gura Cainarului v., Floresti d.; PSs 66, 28, 100, 264, 112, 94, 44,  Chisinau mun.; PS 35, Floresti d.; PSs 9 and 8, Ungheni t.);

– Three PSs opened with a delay up to 15 minutes (PSs 127 and 180, Chisinau mun.; PS 34, Criuleni d.).

The following were invoked as a reason for delayed opening of PSs:

• PS 114, Chisinau mun., the mobile ballot box was not sealed until 8:40 am;

– Distribution of ballot boxes and ballot papers was delayed in: PS 35, Floresti d.; PSs 112, 128, 66, 28, 127,  Chisinau mun.; PS 6, Calaras t.; PS 32, Causeni d.;

– PS 9, the door of the safe box got blocked when they were taking out the ballot papers;

– Protocols were prepared with delay at: PS 34, Criuleni d., PS 10, Causeni d.;

– PS 273, Chisinau mun., the seals were found with delay, which led toa delay in the opening of the PS.

Insufficient Ballot Papers

– As of 13 June 2015, in five Electoral Offices of the Polling Station (EOPS) from ATUG ( 1 each in  Comrat t., Congaz v., Copceac v., Vulcanesti d.) the number of sent ballot papers was lower then the requested number;

– PS 7, Causenii Vechi v., Causeni d., after renumbering on the voting day, 14 ballot papers for local councilors are missing: on 13 June there were 2937, on 14 June – 2923.

Entry of Several Persons in the Voting Booths

• PS 13, Ivanovca v., Basarabeasca d., the observer of a party helped a voter to draw up the ballot papers.

Voting on the Basis of Inappropriate Documents

• PS 6, Straseni t., three cases were found when people voted on the basis of the ID cards without the loose leaf, the PS Chairperson justifying that such a voting is possible because these people are on the lists of voters.
• PS 42, Suri v., Drochia d., one person voted with her ID card, but with the loose leaf of her grandson.

Taking the Ballot Paper out of the Polling Station

– PS 64, Targul Vertiujeni v., Floresti d., two ballot papers (one for the position of mayor, and one for the position of local councilor) were found on grass, in front of the PS. The ballot papers were clean (no voting applied). One voter found them and brought them into the polling station;

– PS 26, Chimislia, one EOPS member took the ballot paper out of the PS, which does not have an access ramp, for a person with disabilities to vote. Subsequently it was put into the ballot box.

Electronic Register

• The State Register of Voters (SRV) was found to malfunction in three CSs (CS 36, Telenesti r.; PS 261, Durlesti t., Chisinau mun.; PS 9, Balti mun.). The operators record the voters manually.

Electioneering on the Election Day

• A car parked in front of PS 4, Floresti t., had electoral posters of an election contestant, and the electoral posters were removed from the car at the request of the EOPS Chairman;

– PS 9, Orhei t., a voter entered the voting booth, carrying his granddaughter on his arms, who held a balloon with the signs of a party;

– PS 49, Zaim v., Causeni d., the candidate of a party was electioneering in front of the PS;

– At a distance less then 100 m from PS 9, Sangerei d., an electoral poster of a party was identified.

Lists of Voters

– PS 94, Chisinau mun., one voter was present neither in the SRV, nor in the main list of voters. Thus, he voted on the additional list.

Transportation of Voters

– PS 12, Cimiseni v., Criuleni d., the brother of an independent candidate transported several voters to the PS (at least three times).

Intimidation of Observers

– PS 44, Floresti d., the Promo-LEX observer was intimidated, limiting his possibilities to move within the PS.

Additionally, in the attached document you’ll find quantitative statistical data on the voting process as of 10:00 am.

At 3:00 pm, Promo-LEX Association will organize the next press briefing to present the observers’ findings regarding the electoral process as of 2:00 pm.

Promo-LEX Observation Mission declares itself to be neutral and equidistant towards the election candidates, it is not an investigation body and does not assume the express obligation to support the observers’ findings by evidence.

The General Local Elections of 14 (28) June 2015 are monitored by Promo-LEX Association under its Monitoring Democratic Processes Program. The Observation Mission is part of the activities carried out by the civil society under the aegis of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections.

The Observation Mission of the General Local Elections of 14 (28) June 2015 is supported financially U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Council of Europe and benefits of technical assistance provided by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI).

The opinions presented in the press release belong to authors and do not necessarily reflect the donors’ view.

For additional information please contact: Simion Ciochină, Communication Officer of the Observation Mission for the 2015 General Local Elections, Tel: 0 (22) 49 26 84, GSM: (+373) 69 11 96 94, E-mail: [email protected]