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As part of the local elections monitoring effort Promo-LEX carried out a parallel vote tabulation (PVT) of results from all 300 polling stations in the Chisinau mayoral runoffs, on June 19, 2011. Promo-LEX lodged observers in each polling station, who, apart from collecting the official copies of results, have also been observing the entire electoral process, through filling out standardized reporting checklists. The observation of the electoral process in Chisinau has found the e-day dynamic but largely meeting most national legal requirements and international standards.

The Election Observation Mission (EOM) collected all 300 official copies of protocols, via telephone, and found 12 errors identified through the logical controls prescribed by the CEC. Noteworthy, only one of these erroneous protocols (PEB 54) had an error in the results section of the protocol that could potentially affect the general outcome by 3 votes.

The results of the PVT yielded the following results:
Dorin Chirtoacă – 50.66%
Igor Dodon – 49.34%

In absolute numbers the results are:
Dorin Chirtoacă – 187,134 votes
Igor Dodon – 182,276 votes

The main negative findings of the comprehensive qualitative assessment of the electoral process include the safekeeping of ballot papers (only 4% of polling stations reporting somewhat unsecure or irregular safekeeping of ballots). At the same time an alarming proportion of 24% of PEB observations reported at least one incidence of attempts or use of undue influence on voters.

Observers reported, in 13% of polling station reports, instances of aggressive behavior inside or in the vicinity of the polling stations, intimidation of voters or other stakeholders, and even isolated incidences of violent behavior. Electoral posting has been reported in the 50m range within the polling stations in 6% of observations.

The EOM collected at its Common Calling and Analysis Center both the qualitative data and results from the 300 static observers systematically, through phone, using standardized data collection and codification forms. These forms allowed efficient and accurate data collection from each polling station in Chisinau. The data has been stored in the Promo-LEX electronic system which allows the effort to safely and efficiently store the data and analyze the trends in the polling stations.

The PVT, carried out by Promo-LEX in Chisinau, aims at strengthening the public’s trust in the electoral process in general, and the votes Count in particular.

Promo-LEX is a non-governmental, non-partisan and non-profit organization that focuses on promoting democratic values and international standards of protection of human rights in the Republic of Moldova, including the Transnistrian region.

Promo-LEX extends gratitude to the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) for technical and financial support. The effort is co-funded by the East-Europe Foundation, from the resources of the Swedish Agency for International Development and Cooperation (Sida) and the Danish Foreign Ministry. The opinions expressed in this statement belong to the authors and do not necessarily mirror those of the donors.

For details and other inquiries, please contact: Carolina Bondarciuc, press officer
Phone: (22) 450024, GSM: 069637849, e-mail: [email protected]