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On the day of the second round of voting, the Promo-LEX OM delegated one static short-term observer to each of 175 polling stations (PSs) out of 620 PSs open and expected to be monitored. The other 445 PSs will be observed by 50 (two-observers) mobile teams. We remind that the second round of voting is held in 609 polling stations, and repeat voting in the case of 11 stations.

General data on the opening of polling stations

Information on the opening of polling stations was collected based on 225 observer reports.

According to observers, the vast majority of PSs 219 (97.3%) started their activity on time, at 7:00, except for 6 PSs (2.7%), which were opened with insignificant delays, up to 10 minutes. In 4 PSs (1.2%), the video cameras were not turned on since the start of the electoral operations for opening the polling station. In 65 PSs (28.9%), the solemnity of the voting process was not ensured by playing the national anthem at the opening of the polling station and displaying the state flag in the station. And in 78 PS (34.7%), the thermal agent is not provided.

Incidents reported at the opening of polling stations

Until 10:00, the Promo-LEX OM received and processed 21 incidents.

Electoral campaigning or adverse promotion in the 100 m perimeter and/or in the polling station to influence voters’ choice – 1 case:

PS 2/11 Balti. The representative of a competitor appeared with a transparent folder in which an electoral leaflet could be seen. None of the PEB members noticed or reacted.

Presence of advertising materials, posters, electoral boards within the radius of the polling station (100 meters from the station) – 2 cases:

PS 23/38 Nisporeni, Varzaresti. Electoral campaigning materials were observed within 100 m of the PS. Although an attempt was apparently made to remove them, the picture of one competitor’s team remained. According to the observer, later, the PEB president ordered the removal of the campaigning material.

PS 4/27 Maximovca, Anenii Noi. On a billboard near the polling station, the observer identified A4 leaflets with an electoral message in favor of a competitor.

Unjustified presence of unauthorized persons in the polling station or within 100 m – 2 cases:

PS 15/3 Dubasari, Corjova. Within 100 m of the PS, two women were observed (observed also in the first round of voting on 5 November 2023) talking to voters before and after they exercised their right to vote. One of the women is the grandmother of a competitor’s representative.

PS 25/45 Orhei, Malaiesti. For 18 minutes, the PEB president talked with an unidentified person inside the polling station.

Discontinuation of the shooting of electoral operations during the voting day – 3 cases:

PS 25/81 Orhei, Viscauti. Although the camera was installed and turned on, it did not record the voting process.

PS 25/45 Orhei, Malaiesti. For 10 min (08:03 – 08:14), the camera did not record the shooting process due to a failure of the electrical outlet. The problem has been removed.

PS 31/8 Cot, Soldanesti. The shooting process has been interrupted due to a failure of the extension cord the video camera was connected to. That was observed by PEB members at 08:45.

Deficiencies in the functioning of the SAIS Elections System (suspension of operation, situations when SAIS Elections System indicates that the voter voted, and s/he claims not to) – 3 cases:

PS 4/34 Anenii Noi, Speia. Until 07:10, operators could not connect to the SAIS Elections system.

PS 25/67 Samananca, Orhei. When the polling station opened, at 06:57, the lack of internet connection was detected at both SAIS operators. They started to register the people who came to vote on paper. CEC was called to remove the problem. At 7:15, when the mobile team left the polling station, the problem had not been resolved.

PS 4/34 Anenii Noi, Speia. The SAIS Elections was not operational for 10 min (09:15 – 09:25) because there was no internet connection. In the meantime, the voters expressed their vote while being registered on paper, with the idea that they would later be introduced in the system.

Violations of voting secrecy (photographing ballot papers, etc.) – 3 cases:

PS 11/33 Cimislia, Lipoveni. At 8:04, a voter took a picture of the ballot paper (the flash was noticed when she took the picture). When another observer/representative checked the phone, the picture was not found in the phone’s gallery.

PS 15/3 Dubasari, Corjova. A competitor’s representative was observed standing behind the operators and checking against his lists persons who entered the PS. The PEB president made an observation to him, but he did not react.

PS 01/276, Chisinau, Bubuieci. The voting booths were positioned in such a way that they did not ensure voting secrecy, and it was possible to observe the process of applying the voter’s stamp (the open side of the booths was not facing the wall). The PEB president reasoned that the position of the booths was still good.

Ballot boxes were not sealed according to legal procedures/ broken/damaged or missing seals on ballot boxes – 6 cases:

PS 9/6 Calarasi, Calarasi. The ballot boxes were not sealed according to procedures. The stationary ballot box was sealed with 3 seals and the movable ballot box was sealed incorrectly (the seal was applied to the top and not to the side).

PS 12/7 Criuleni, Malaiestii Noi. The stationary ballot boxes were not sealed according to procedures, only two seals were applied to each one.

PS 01/276, Chisinau, Bubuieci. Stationary ballot boxes were sealed with only 3 seals.

PS 11/35 Schinosica, Cimislia. When the polling station was opened, the mobile ballot box was not sealed completely (the seal was hanging on it). PEB members did not pay attention thereto, and when the observers left the PS at 7:30, the mobile ballot box had still not been sealed.

PS 8/10 Capaclia, Cantemir. The stationary ballot box was sealed with only 3 seals. PEB members did not react to that situation in any way.

PS 9/12 Buda, Calarasi. The mobile ballot box was not sealed. The PEB president announced that the ballot box will be sealed before moving to the locality.

Others – 1 cases:

PS 36/27, TAUG, Vulcanesti. At 7 a.m., there is no electricity in the PS premises due to weather conditions. By 8:30, the power supply was restored. The voting process was not suspended.

The release is drafted within the Observation Mission for the General Local Elections of 5 (19) November 2023, carried out by the Promo-LEX Association with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Program “Democracy, Transparency and Responsibility” and of the European Union through the Project “Strengthening the electoral legislative framework and assessing its implementation during the general local elections in 2023”.

The opinions expressed in the reports and public releases of the Promo-LEX OM belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the point of view of financiers or partners. The content hereof may be subject to editorial revisions.

In case of discrepancies between the text in Romanian and its translation into another language, the provisions established by the Romanian text prevail.