General local elections of 5 (19) November 2023 have proved that the electoral legislation, applied for the first time, still needs improvement, and that changes to the legal framework during the electoral period have a negative impact on the fairness, transparency, predictability, and integrity of the electoral process. Lessons learned from the local election were discussed during a round table organized by Promo-LEX, attended by representatives of electoral bodies, other relevant institutions, political parties, judicial bodies, and civil society organizations.

When bringing forward the main findings and recommendations of the Observation Mission (OM), Promo-LEX analysts emphasized that elections took place in a challenging political, internal, and external context, shaped by several phenomena (military aggression against Ukraine and Russia’s hybrid war in Moldova; the unprecedented declaration of unconstitutionality of a political party in Moldova, political “migration” of mayors, etc.) which influenced the conduct of the election.

Overall, Promo-LEX evaluated the administration and conduct of election by electoral bodies as positive. CEC has been able to handle its duties, even though they were more complex given the new electoral legislation. However, the institution also faced challenges such as insufficient human resources; delayed adjustment of the legal framework to the provisions of the Electoral Code; certification procedure for new electoral officials; processing and timely publication of reports on campaign financing, as well as appeals and complaints filed by electoral actors. The heavy workload assigned to lower electoral bodies, especially ECEC I, which at times seems to have exceeded their capacities, has created difficulties in managing the electoral process.

Changing the rules of the game mid-game

Conducting the election during a state of emergency and through amendments to the Electoral Code made during the electoral period, including as a result of declaring a political party unconstitutional due to opaque and illegal financing, has sparked a cascade of uncertainties that demand to be addressed in the context of future elections.

Although the party declared unconstitutional was dissolved, its leaders continued to be involved in the electoral campaign through other parties resurrected on the eve of the elections or independent candidates. Approving changes to the existing legal framework, including by involving, contrary to the principle of legal certainty, the Commission for Exceptional Situations in restricting the right to be elected and in cancelling the registration of candidates, had a negative impact on the fairness of the electoral process and on the rights to elect and be elected. Such circumstances have created uncertainties for voters, electoral bodies, and electoral competitors, and transparency and predictability of the electoral process have been affected.

We recall that according to the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, the stability of electoral legislation is one of the fundamental conditions of a democratic state based on the rule of law, and an important element of the credibility of the electoral process. Promo-LEX recommends that the Parliament refrain from approving amendments to electoral legislation during the electoral period or if there are objective circumstances warranting amendment, the law should be enforced in the next elections. We also emphasize that for an electoral process to be fair, where all electoral competitors enjoy equal opportunities, same rights to elect and be elected, the Exceptional Situations Commission must not intervene.

Promo-LEX found other legal issues that are not sufficiently regulated in the new electoral legislation and need to be solved. These refer, among others, to uncertainties regarding implementation of the restriction on the right to be elected for persons deprived of the right to hold managerial positions, the support of electoral competitors by subjects other than those who appointed them, the requirements for cancelling the registration of some electoral competitors and the image transfer from a political party that was declared unconstitutional to a political party registered in the electoral race, the control of the constitutionality of provisions in electoral matters, the late resolution of electoral disputes by removing the exception of unconstitutionality.

Illegal financing and misuse of administrative resources

According to Promo-LEX, among the most serious violations in the campaign remain the misuse of administrative resources and illegal financing. Although the electoral and related legislation has been tightened, there is no significant decrease in the number of such cases compared to the last general local elections.

According to Promo-LEX Observation Mission, 185 cases of administrative resource utilization were reported, particularly involving the engagement of individuals with public positions in campaign activities (61), organisation of electoral meetings within public institutions, with the employees of those institutions, during their working hours (56), and candidates attributing credit for public works/services carried out using public funds (41).

Promo-LEX observers have also identified at least eight cases that can be qualified as electoral gifting. In addition, security and law enforcement bodies state that there was also one case of systemic electoral corruption of both candidates and voters, which led to the cancellation of registration of candidates nominated by SP in all electoral constituencies.

More transparent reporting of campaign financing

The new electoral legislation strengthened the role of CEC in the supervision and control of the financing of electoral campaigns. In addition, even though the new Electoral Code seems to facilitate the process of opening the “Electoral Fund” account, just like in the case of the previous elections, several political parties have informed about the commercial banks’ refusal to open this account.

The late approval of the relevant regulatory framework appears to have created difficulties for competitors in filling in and submitting reports. However, Promo-LEX OM has found a relatively high degree of submission of financial reports by competitors at CEC. In addition, submission of reports by independent candidates to ECEC remains incomplete, though more transparent than in the previous local elections.

Out of 36 political formations that nominated candidates, 32 political formations submitted at least one campaign finance report, and 27 submitted weekly financial reports/corresponding information, including the final report. Even though in the first stages CEC was unable to publish the reports within legal terms, the process has improved along the way. The main financing sources, according to the reports, are income accumulated from individuals (donations) – 51% and own funds held on the accounts of political parties (34%).

As a result of the civic monitoring, Promo-LEX OM estimated unreported expenses for at least 4,743,455 lei. The most unreported expenses were estimated for PS (38%), followed by PSRM (16%) and PR (12%). Unreported expenses made up for 13% of the total reported expenses. Their share has decreased compared to the previous three national elections (the share of unreported expenses from the total reported ones for the parliamentary elections in 2021 was 32%; for the presidential elections in 2020 – 39%, and for the local elections in 2019 – 31%).

Although the campaign financing seems to have been more transparent, we still consider it to be low and requiring further attention. We recommend again adding provisions to the Electoral Code to regulate political and electoral financing by “third parties” more effectively.

Less hate speech than in the parliamentary and presidential elections.

The level of hate speech usage in the 2023 local general elections (102 cases) was much lower compared to the parliamentary elections in 2021 (299 cases) and the presidential elections in 2020 (448 cases); however, it remained at the same level as in the previous local elections in 2019 (101 cases). The main sources of spreading hate speech remained social media (54 cases) and the mass media (34 cases).

Next, hate speech was mainly used by men (89 cases), aged between 35-50 years (72 cases). The criteria that most often formed the basis of hate speech were “political affiliation” (69 cases), “sex/gender” (37 cases), “health” (27 cases), “professional activity” (11 cases) and “sexual orientation/gender identity” (11 cases). Of the total number of hate speech authors, 53% were electoral competitors and politicians. LGBTQI people continue to be the target of the most aggressive forms of hate speech. Marital status, gender roles, physical appearance, etc. formed the basis of sexist speeches directed against women in particular.

Promo-LEX notes a positive dynamic regarding the public authorities’ reaction to hate speech in the context of the 2023 general local elections. The number of registered complaints and documentation of alleged cases of hate speech is increasing compared to the last four years.

All the findings and recommendations of the Promo-LEX Observation Mission for 2023 general local elections are included in the FINAL REPORT, which can be accessed here.

The report and the communiqué have been prepared within the framework of the Observation Mission for General Local Elections of 5 (19) November 2023, carried out by Promo-LEX Association with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the “Democracy, Transparency and Accountability” Program and of the European Union under the “Enhancing the electoral legal framework and assessment of its implementation during 2023 local general elections” Project.

On the day of the second round of voting, 19 November 2023, the Promo-LEX Observation Mission (OM) delegated one static short-term observer to 175 polling stations (PS) out of 620 open PSs. The other 445 PSs were be observed by 50 (two-observers) mobile teams. We remind that the second round of voting was held in 609 polling stations, and repeat voting in the case of 11 stations.

Following the processing of all the reports received from the observers, the Promo-LEX OM noted a number of 126 incidents during the voting.

The following were among the most frequent types of incidents: the unjustified presence of unauthorized persons in the premises or within 100 meters of the polling station (31 cases) and photographing ballot papers and other violations of the secret of voting (25 cases).

“Those types of incidents may suggest a causal link to some negative phenomena of influencing the will of the voters, which took place also during the election campaign and could indicate attempts to control and influence the behavior and decision of the voters, including on election day”, explains the head of the Promo-LEX OM, Nicolae Panfil.

During the election day, voting was generally organized efficiently in the precincts observed. At the same time, the SAIS Elections operation was affected sporadically. 8 cases of suspension of SAIS Elections operation were found due to the lack of electricity or the Internet, or situations in which the voters were not identified by the system. Also, 12 cases of interruption of the process of shooting the electoral operations for opening the polling station or the procedures for counting the ballot papers were observed.

The Promo-LEX OM expresses its concern relating to at least 6 cases of intimidation of observers or obstruction of the free observation process in the polling station. The Promo-LEX OM noted 2 cases of refusal to release copies of all vote counting minutes. We emphasize that, in carrying out their duties, observers have the right to have access to all electoral information.

The vote counting was generally quick and calm. The preliminary results of the vote counting for the position of mayor of Balti, carried out by the Promo-LEX OM based on the minutes collected, do not indicate significant differences compared to the preliminary data announced by the Central Electoral Commission.

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”.

Until 22:00, the Promo-LEX OM received and processed 118 incidents, of which 56 are included in this release.

Intimidation of observers, obstruction of the free observation – 4 cases:

PS 2/59 Balti, Elizaveta. The Promo-LEX observer was intimidated by the PEB president, following a report of the group voting incident at 12:30. The PEB president mentioned: “I expected surprises from the Promo-LEX, but not so much.”

PS 2/41 Balti. After the Promo-LEX observer asked the PEB members why the voting booths were dismantled before the polling station closed, the president reacted aggressively, having commented: “We stay in a cold place and you don’t take this into account!” And why is the Promo-LEX not informed about the conditions in the PS?”. At the same time, the PEB members did not react aggressively to the observations made by the representatives of the electoral competitors.

PS 2/58 Balti. At 21:12, the representative of an electoral competitor informed the PEB president about the desire to shoot the process of counting the ballot papers. The president forbade him for the reason of “not wanting to be captured”, but the representative insisted on shooting. After consultation with DEC II representatives, the president allowed the shooting provided that the faces of the PEB members would not be shot.

PS 2/22 Balti. The representative of an electoral competitor requested to shoot the process of counting the ballot papers. The president allowed him to shoot, but moved him to a distance of about 5 meters.

Unjustified presence of unauthorized persons in the polling station or within 100 m – 19 cases:

PS 23/38 Nisporeni, Varzaresti. Within 100 m of the PS, the means of transport of both candidates were observed repeatedly (the 3rd time). They were not observed interacting with voters, only with each other. One of the cars was a Nissan, metallic gray in color.

PS 34/14 Telenesti, Chitcanii Vechi. At 14:24, an unauthorized person was observed at the PS entrance urging a voter to vote for a particular candidate. The PEB president was notified and he informed the unauthorized person that he was not allowed to influence the voter’s vote. Later, the unauthorized person, who could not be identified, left.

PS 15/3 Dubasari, Corjova. At around 15:50, three women were observed within 100 m of the PS (observed also during round 1). The women were also present in the first part of the day (the blue car). They interacted with certain voters and were always on the phone.

PS 4/22 Anenii Noi, Floreni. During the observation (about 30 minutes), the mobile team found that a candidate was stationed in the immediate vicinity of the polling station in a personal car.

PS 22/20 Leova, Ceadir. In the immediate vicinity of the PEB, a car with the former mayor of the locality and a candidate was observed. The STO stated that he saw at least two voters who entered the minibus for a few minutes and then got out. The police warned them and they left the place.

PS 17/18 Falesti, Ciolacu Vechi. The candidate for the position of mayor appeared in front of the PEB without a justified reason, having discussed with the citizens. The candidate was not a resident of Ciolacul Vechi village.

PS 01/259, Chisinau, Durlesti. An Audi car was parked near the PS, which has been monitoring the voters coming to vote since the morning, the PEB president approached the car, talked to the person inside for 5-7 minutes, but the car did not leave.

PS 01/254, Chisinau, Durlesti. Within 100 meters of the PS, a car was parked for a long time. There were two women inside, who were constantly talking on the phone. They were gone for a short time, but they came back.

PS 01/255, Chisinau, Durlesti. Near the entrance to the PS yard, a car stationed for a long time (Renault). The person in the car was behaving suspiciously.

PS 01/257, Chisinau, Durlesti. At 19:05, a red Mazda car was observed supervising the PS. When the persons in the car understood that they were observed, they left. The said car was seen during the day and around other PSs in Durlesti.

PS 01/255, Chisinau, Durlesti. An Audi car stayed near the PS for a long time (about 50 minutes), after which the previously reported Renault car returned. From the Renault, a person got into the Audi. The individuals were identified as advisers to a competitor.

PS 2/49 Balti. Starting at 19:00, the secretary from another polling station was present in the PS (PS 2/5). She periodically entered the office where the safe with ballot papers of the PS 2/49 was located. The president of the PS 2/49 explained that the secretary of the PS 2/5 was an employee of the educational institution where PS 2/49 was located and needed access to the office.

PS 28/51 Singerei, Pepeni. A Suzuki car parked within 100 m of the polling station was observed over a longer period of time.

PS 01/257, Chisinau, Durlesti. There was a car parked in front of the PS, in which there were 2 persons. During the day, they came and went, stayed for about 30 minutes, then left. At 19:40, the PEB president asked them “what was the reason why they returned to the PS, and that their presence was suspicious”. One of the persons replied ironically: “We are waiting for a relative to come, don’t worry – we are not campaigning”.

PS 01/254, Chisinau, Durlesti. A person periodically returned to the PS and talked with the PS president. He was in the station for 28 minutes, from 18:35 to 18:58. He left and returned at 20:20, waited for a voter to vote, then left. During the day, he entered the PS several times. He drove a Toyota car.

PS 01/255, Chisinau, Durlesti. A car transporting voters was observed several times around the PS. The PEB president was notified, after which the policeman was informed, and, at the request of the policeman, the person left the PS.

PS 28/51 Singerei, Pepeni. A candidate for the position of mayor was in the premises of the polling station without authorization, he created conflict situations. He was located near the polling station starting at 13:00.

PS 01/258, Chisinau, Durlesti. Outside the PS, between 20:10 and 20:38, the Audi car was observed within 100 meters of the PS. That means of transport was also observed periodically within the radius of other PSs in Durlesti.

PS 11/17 Cimislia, Ciucur– Mingir. Several unauthorized persons were in the premises of the house of culture, where the polling station was located. After the PEB president’s observation, they left.

Violation of voting secrecy (photographing the ballot papers, presenting the ballot paper with the cast vote, faulty location of the voting booths that allow the voter’s option to be viewed, etc.) – 11 cases:

PS 26/33 Rezina, Buciusca. A PEB member wrote the nominal list of voters in a notebook. The list was drawn up by the representative of the Socialist Party of the Republic of Moldova, who left the section, having asked the PEB member to continue writing down the surnames/names of the voters in his place.

PS 12/7 Criuleni, Malaiesti Noi. At 14:42, a voter was observed by a competitor’s representative photographing the ballot paper. An observation was made to the voter, he said he deleted the picture.

PS 4/34 Anenii Noi, Speia. A voter took a photo of the ballot paper. As a result, the PEB president canceled the ballot paper, by unanimous vote of the PEB members, and inserted it into the ballot box.

PS 17/10 Falesti, Bocani. At 15:27, a voter took a photo of the ballot paper. At the request of the PEB members, the photo was deleted. No sanctions were applied.

PS 23/1 Nisporeni, Nisporeni. The voter took a photo of the ballot paper after applying the Voted stamp, and the PEB president who noticed that notified the police. A report regarding the contravention was drawn up for the voter in question.

PS 11/33 Cimislia, Lipoveni. A voter took a photo of his ballot paper. He was not punished and was allowed to go.

PS 01/257, Chisinau, Durlesti. A voter, after casting her vote, approached the table of the PEB members and showed the ballot paper with the applied option, asking if “it was visible?” The PEB members confirmed that the vote was visible, after which the ballot paper was inserted into the ballot box, and the voter left the PS.

PS 01/258, Chisinau, Durlesti. A voter took a photo of the ballot paper after expressing his option of voting. At the insistence of the PEB members, the picture was deleted.

PS 2/11 Balti. At 18:16, a voter took a photo of the ballot paper. The PEB secretary made an observation and requested the deletion of the photo. The voter deleted the photo, then voted and left the PS.

PS 2/11 Balti. At 16:43, a voter took a photo of the ballot paper. That was noticed by the PEB members, who made an observation.

PS 01/267, Chisinau, Vadul lui Voda. A drunken voter entered the PS and, after voting, took a photo of the ballot paper. The intervention of the police was needed to resolve the situation described.

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

PS 27/27 Riscani, Malinovscoe. At the time of the visit, at 15:40, the observers noticed that the video camera was not recording the voting process. The PEB members do not draw attention to that. It was not known when the camera stopped recording.

PS 25/70 Orhei, Mana. While the mobile team was in the PS premises (20 minutes), the shooting process was interrupted. The SAIS Elections operators have communicated that the video camera had technical problems.

PS 35/29 Ungheni, Bulhac. The video camera had technical problems. It got turned off every 2 minutes. The PEB members turned it on only when voters came to vote.

Deficiencies in voters’ lists (address discrepancies, deceased voters, signatures instead of others) – 3 cases:

PS 18/24 Floresti, Tipordei. The voter was not found in the polling station lists according to his residence. He was allowed to vote, having been included in the supplementary lists.

PS 01/248, Chisinau, Codru. A voter signed mistakenly the voters’ lists instead of another voter. At the request of the PEB president, he submitted a statement on own responsibility that he had signed for another person by mistake.

PS 01/255, Chisinau, Durlesti. A person with the address in the identity card assigned to the respective PS, would have had the address in Briceni according to SAIS Elections. The voter was directed to DEC I Durlesti to clarify whether she can vote in Durlesti.

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) – 2 cases:

PS 2/22 Balti. At approximately 14:50, following checks in SIAS Elections, 2 voters were not identified in the system. However, taking into account the fact that their domicile was within the territorial radius of the polling station, with the consent of the PEB president, the voters were included in the supplementary voters’ lists.

PS 01/255, Chisinau, Durlesti. At 16:30, the power went off in the PS premises. The problem was resolved immediately and the electricity was reconnected. However, that case disrupted the activity of SAIS Elections, as it was not possible to be accessed by operators for about 5-10 minutes, after which functionality was restored.

Organized transportation of voters (buses, minibuses, or other transport units that would normally not be around the polling station) – 5 cases:

PS 25/23 Orhei, Chiperceni. A car bringing voters to the polling station in an organized manner was observed (3 times). According to the car driver, he brought the parents, and then the grandfather. Upon exiting the PS, the voter (the “grandfather”) was asked by the Promo-LEX observer who he came with to vote. The voter stated that he did not know the driver.

PS 15/3 Dubasari, Corjova. At 16:06, a car (Lexus, gray in color) transporting voters was observed (for the second time) within 100 m of the PS.

PS 15/3 Dubasari, Corjova. At 18:20, within 100 m of the PS, a car transporting voters in an organized manner was observed (already for the third time).

PS 4/15 Anenii Noi, Chirca. Organized transport of voters by a candidate to the polling station. The candidate was in close proximity to the polling station.

PS 15/3 Dubasari, Corjova. The candidate for mayor was transporting voters to the polling station. The police was noticed, the electoral competitor was taken to the police station and documented.

Presence of advertising materials, posters, electoral boards within the radius of the polling station (100 meters from the station) – 1 case:

PS 4/37 Anenii Noi, Tintareni The presence of a competitor’s electoral poster near the PS.

Unjustified group voting (two or more voters) – 3 cases.

PS 11/40 Cimislia, Satul Nou. Two voters voted together in the voting booth without any justifiable reason.

PS 01/258, Chisinau, Durlesti. Two voters tried to vote simultaneously in the same voting booth. However, at the intervention of the PEB members, they separated.

PS 2/11 Balti. At 16:02, two persons entered the PS, who stayed in a voting booth for 1 minute, later they voted in different booths. The PEB members did not react to that case.

Incidents in the process of closing the PS and counting the votes – 1 case:

PS 2/41 Balti. At 20:30, the PEB members, at the initiative of the President, dismantled 2 voting booths, out of the 3 present ones. They motivated the decision by wishing to get free earlier. Likewise, the PEB president came up with the initiative to start the process of canceling unused ballot papers. The representative of a competitor criticized that initiative, to which the president replied that they would start the procedure after 21:00.

Ballot boxes were not sealed according to legal procedures/ broken/damaged or missing seals on ballot boxes – 2 cases:

PS 18/3 Floresti, Floresti. Stationary ballot boxes were sealed with only three seals. The PEB president stated that he did not receive enough seals for all ballot boxes.

PS 29/43 Soroca, Voloave. The mobile ballot box was not sealed according to legal procedures.

Others – 2 cases:

PS 2/1 Balti. At 14:20, a voter tore up the ballot paper, after he had actually voted, having reasoned that he got confused. The PEB president collected the torn fragments of the ballot paper to document the case, as possible evidence, and called the police.

PS 2/48 Balti. Until 15:26, there were 3 subsequent power cutoffs in the PS, lasting 5 min and with intervals of 10 min. The cutoffs did not affect voting.

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. 

Until 15:00, the Promo-LEX OM received and processed 62 incidents, of which 41 are included in this release.

Unjustified presence of unauthorized persons in the polling station or within 100 m – 9 cases:

PS 19/22 Glodeni, Nicolaevca. Within 10 meters of the polling station (PS), there was a car with a video camera on board oriented to the PS entrance and recording. The PEB president knew about that, but he did not comment anything and did not react to notify the police about that case, having claimed that the car was in that place also in the first round of voting.

PS 01/255, Chisinau, Durlesti. A car with two persons (a man and a woman) was parked near the PS entrance for a longer period of time. When an observer passed by, the persons inside took a picture of him. It was not possible to identify the purpose of those persons being near the PS.

PS 01/259, Chisinau, Durlesti. Several vehicles have been parked for over 30 minutes at the entrance to the PS yard. A person observed in one of those cars accused the Promo-LEX observer that “persons of his type” were guilty of cases of alerting the police who came “to document their people”.

PS 01/257, Chisinau, Durlesti. Starting at 10:15, for a period of more than 30 minutes, two cars (grey and blue) were parked near PS in which unauthorized persons were observed. The purpose of their presence near PS was not clear, but after they had been stationed for more than 30 minutes, another car stopped near PS, from which a candidate for mayor of Durlesti got out. He got into one of two parked cars (grey), and, after 1-2 minutes, the candidate got out of the car, got into the car he came with and, together with the person he talked to, left the PS area. A few minutes later, the grey car returned, having parked again near PS, where it continued to be. Periodically, the person in the car drove around the PS.

PS 25/23 Orhei, Chiperceni. Within 100 m of the PS, 2 transport units were observed to be parked in front of the PS and the representative of a candidate approached the voters and told who to vote for. Police intervention was requested.

PS 31/14 Soldanesti, Cusmirca. One of the candidates for the position of mayor was talking to voters within 35 m of the polling station. A PEB member approached him and told him something, after which he moved from the polling station approximately 150 meters away.

PS 01/256, Chisinau, Durlesti. Near the PS, within 100 m, for a longer period of time (over 1.5 hours), a car with two persons in it was parked. It seemed that they monitored the voters who came to vote.

PS 31/14 Soldanesti, Cusmirca. Councilors of a competitor, within 40 m of the polling station, talked to voters. The PEB president told them repeatedly to leave, and, in the end, they complied, having moved about 150 m away from the polling station.

PS 01/257, Chisinau, Durlesti. At around 12:44, approximately 100 meters from the PS, a candidate for mayor was observed in a parked car. Based on previous observations, he watched the process for about half an hour, then left and returned after some time.

Violation of voting secrecy (photographing the ballot papers, presenting the ballot paper with the cast vote, faulty location of the voting booths that allow the voter’s option to be viewed, etc.) – 11 cases:

PS 25/23 Orhei, Chiperceni. Before the ballot paper was inserted into the ballot box, a drunken voter disclosed who he was voting for by presenting the ballot paper and shouting who he voted for. The PEB president asked him to leave the PS; upon his refusal to comply, the intervention of the police officer was requested. The voter complied and left the PS.

PS 10/13 Causeni, Baimaclia. A voter took a photo of the ballot paper, and the PEB members noticed that and made an observation to him. The voter deleted the photo, put the ballot paper in the ballot box and left the PS.

PS 12/17 Criuleni, Dubasarii Vechi. A voter took a photo of the ballot paper inside the polling station, then posted the photo on social media. That was not noticed at the time, but only after the voter posted the photo. The photo from social networks was identified by the SAIS operators. The PEB president called the police and informed about that case. The sector policeman had to go to the concerned voter’s home to document the case.

PS 36/11 TAUG, Comrat. A voter took a photo of the ballot paper. Later, the voter deleted the photo at the request of the PEB president.

PS 36/32 TAUG, Baurci. At 10:18, a case of a voter taking a photo of the ballot paper in the voting booth was observed. Not a single PEB member reacted to that incident, probably not even having noticed it.

PS 2/47 Balti. At 10:20, a voter took a photo of his ballot paper. The PEB president intervened and requested the person to delete the picture, but the voter did not comply, having argued that he took the picture for himself.

PS 31/14 Soldanesti, Cusmirca Two voters photographed the ballot papers, after having applied the stamp against the electoral competitor. That was brought to the attention of the PEB president, who told the persons to delete the photo taken.

PS 31/14 Soldanesti, Cusmirca The voter took a photo of the ballot paper after casting the vote, against the name of the electoral competitor, and that was noticed by the PEB president, who forced the person to delete the photo taken. The person complied and deleted the photo, but was not punished.

PS 4/34 Anenii Noi, Speia. A voter took a photo of the ballot paper with the voting option. The PEB president notified the case, and the voter got a report issued therefor.

PS 17/10 Falesti, Bocani. At 13:39, a voter photographed the ballot paper with the voting option. The PEB president requested the deletion of the picture. The voter complied.

PS 28/51 Singerei, Pepeni A voter took a photo of the ballot paper. Following the PEB president’s observation, the voter deleted the picture.

Discontinuation of the shooting of electoral operations during the voting day – 5 cases:

PS 31/32 Soldanesti, Vadul-Rascov. During the mobile team’s visit, at 9:31, it was observed that the video camera had not been put into operation throughout the day for the reason that it was not operational. The PEB president claimed that they called the CEC to be able to remove the problem, but the camera was still not operational.

PS 11/14 Cimislia, Mereni. The video camera was connected, but had not recorded anything since the beginning of the day. The PEB members detected that only when the observer took the photo. Starting from 10:46, the camera was operational and the whole process was recorded.

PS 9/15 Calarasi, Frumoasa. At 10:31, it was noticed that the video camera was not recording the voting process and was turned off. The PEB president did not know that, she only found out after asking the observer why the camera was not operational. It was not known exactly when the camera stopped recording. It was later turned on by a SAIS operator.

PS 8/22 Cantemir, Enichioi. When the observers were in the polling station, at about 12:25, the video camera was not operational and did not record the voting process. The PEB members noticed that when the observers arrived and informed them that the camera was not operational so far. They tried to remove the problem, but they did not succeed and they contacted the higher electoral bodies. When the observers left the PS, the video camera was not operational.

PS 25/61 Orhei, Pohrebeni. At 13:35, the observers entered the PS and saw that the video camera was not operational and was not recording the voting process. The PEB president notified that the camera was not operational since 10:00. From 06:50 to 10:00, the camera was operational. The PEB president appealed to the CEC, but the issue remained unresolved. The camera does not record currently the voting process.

Deficiencies in voters’ lists (address discrepancies, deceased voters, signatures instead of others) – 2 cases:

PS 23/38 Nisporeni, Varzaresti. Two voters (spouses) were on the voters’ list from different PSs. Both voters voted at that PS, the woman on the basic voters’ list, and the man (husband) on the supplementary list (with the approval of the PEB president).

PS 18/22 Floresti, Cuhurestii de Sus. The voter was not found in the lists, in the PS corresponding to her residence. The voter was introduced in the supplementary lists and was allowed to vote in that PS.

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 9/28 Calarasi, Paulesti During the visit at 9:43, due to the lack of internet connection, the voters’ personal data were written on A4 paper, but were not entered into the system by the SAIS operators.

PS 2/22 Balti. At 9:57, following the operator’s check in the SAIS Elections system, the voter was not identified, although he has a residence visa within the radius of the polling station and with the consent of the PEB president, the voter was included in the supplementary lists.

PS 2/50 Balti. At 10:10, a voter was not identified in the SAIS Elections, but as a result of checking the identity card, it was found that the residence visa indicated in the identity card corresponded to the PS territorial radius and the voter was included respectively in the supplementary lists.

Presence of advertising materials, posters, electoral boards within the radius of the polling station (100 meters from the station) – 1 case:

PS 4/15 Anenii Noi, Chirca. When moving to the PS, election leaflets of an electoral competitor were observed attached on the notice board. It was within 100 m of the polling station.

Organized transportation of voters (buses, minibuses, or other transport units that would normally not be around the polling station) – 2 cases:

PS 22/31 Leova, Sarata-Razesi. A candidate transported in an organized manner, with his own car, voters who came down within a radius of more than 100m.

PS 30/22 Straseni, Lozova. A driver (voter who had expressed his right to vote) was observed twice transporting voters to the PS. A verbal report was drawn up for him by the MIA employee. The driver argued that he only helped his neighbors to reach their destination more easily.

Unjustified group voting (two or more voters) – 3 cases:

PS 01/256, Chisinau, Durlesti. In the case of two voters voting in close voting booths, one applied Voted stamp to both ballot papers, then passed the ballot paper to the second voter to drop into the ballot box. PEB members did not react to that situation.

PS 12/37 Criuleni, Slobozia-Dusca. Two voters voted together in the voting booth. PEB members did not react.

PS 2/59 Balti, Elizaveta. Around 12:10, two voters were observed voting together in a voting booth, although neither showed signs of needing assistance. One of the PEB members made observations about that incident, after which those two persons left immediately the PS premises.

Violence or intimidation of voters or other people – 1 case:

PS 11/33 Cimislia, Lipoveni. A voter insulted PEB members because he was not allowed to have access to vote. He approached the operators without the identity card, only with the attachment. He stated that in the first round he was able to vote without the identity card and was even able to photograph the ballot papers.

Ballot boxes were not sealed according to legal procedures/ broken/damaged or missing seals on ballot boxes – 1 case:

PS 18/35 Floresti, Gura Cainarului. The stationary ballot box was sealed with only 3 seals.

Others – 3 cases:

PS 2/40 Balti. At 12:14, a voter reported to the PEB members that he was contacted by phone by an unknown person, who did not introduce himself and who informed him that the elections (second round) had been canceled and it was not necessary to appear at the polling station to vote. A representative of a party intervened also in the discussion and communicated that he was also contacted anonymously by phone and was informed the same way that the elections had been canceled and he should not vote.

PS 9/23 Calarasi, Horodiste. At the voter’s (elderly) request, the PEB member signed the voters’ list instead of the voter.

PS 16/4 Edinet, Edinet. One voter signed, he said “by mistake”, instead of another voter. According to the PEB member, the signature will be deleted.

Regarding the turnout in some localities where repeat voting takes place.

On 19 November 2023, in addition to the second round of voting, repeat voting is taking place in 8 localities, where less than 1/4 of the number of voters registered in the voters’ lists participated in the first round of voting.

By 15:00, in at least 2 localities, a low voter turnout was observed. It is about the Salcia commune (Taraclia district), where the mayor and the local council are elected, and the Cotovskoe village, where the local council is elected. 8 voters voted in each of 2 localities. Moreover, in another locality – Chioselia Rusa village (TAU Gagauzia), no voters had voted.

We mention that, according to article 177 of the Electoral Code, repeat voting is considered valid regardless of the number of voters who participated in the voting.

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. 

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. 

Promo-LEX Association published on Friday, 17 November, the Report no. 5 of the Observation Mission for the Local Elections from 5 (19) November 2023, which presents findings on the work of electoral bodies, examination of contestations and notifications, performance of competitors, including their financial reporting, as well as use of hate speech in the campaign for the second round of local elections.

Recount of ballots. Validation of mandates

CEC has ordered for 10-12 November 2023 the recount of ballots in 18 electoral constituencies. Promo-LEX OM observed 57 ballot recount procedures, monitoring the degree of compliance by the bureau members during the recount.  It was found that in more than 42% of cases the voter lists were not checked and in about 25% of the observed cases there was no compliance with the requirement that only one EBPS member should present the ballot papers to all participants. In one case (PS 9/4) the observer was prevented from receiving certified copies of the minutes.

Regarding the results of the recount, we note that the differences in votes were not significant. Relatively higher values were found in only two cases. In the recount of the ballots for the local councils of level I, in the town of Calarasi and in the commune of Mileștii Mici (Ialoveni) differences of about 17 votes were found for PDCM and PSDE candidates, without affecting the distribution of mandates.

From 10 November 2023, the process of confirming the legality of elections and validating the mandates of local elected representatives by the electoral constituency councils began. It should be noted that the involvement of ECEC in this process is a novelty in the electoral legislation, as previously this procedure used to be carried out by the courts.

Promo-LEX OM observed several ECEC meetings and notes that the process of validating mandates generally went according to the normative provisions.

More electoral contestations, but most rejected or inadmissible

According to Promo-LEX observers, in the period 5-15 November, at least 150 contestations and notifications were submitted to electoral bodies (ECEC I – 16, ECEC II – 79 and CEC – 55). Their number has significantly increased compared to previous monitoring periods. Most of the contestations related to vote counting and tabulation, confirmation of the legality of elections, illegal electoral campaigning, use of administrative resources and illegal campaign financing.

As regards the solutions issued, we note that the majority were either rejected or declared inadmissible (49 – at ECEC level and 44 – at CEC level). The deadlines for resolution were not respected in all cases.

A more apathetic electoral campaign

Involving a much smaller number of candidates, the electoral campaign for the second round of the local general elections was more apathetic than that on the eve of the first round and focused mainly on meetings with voters, which accounted for 57% of the total 53 campaign activities observed.

Most activities were carried out by PAS – 45%, followed by PSRM and PN – 12% each. Of the total activities observed, most were organised in Balti – 32%, Ungheni – 15% and Floresti – 10%.

Promo-LEX OM found at least 19 cases that can be qualified as misuse of administrative resources. All of them were in favour of PAS candidates. These include involvement of President Maia Sandu in the local general elections (3 cases) and participation of Prime Minister Dorin Recean (14 cases) and Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spinu (2 cases) in campaign activities.

According to Promo-LEX OM, the involvement of the President, the Prime Minister and other public officials in electoral campaign activities violates the principle of clear separation between state institutions and political parties and does not ensure equal opportunities for electoral competitors.

Campaign financed mainly from parties’ budget allocations

According to CEC’s website, for the period 8 – 10 November 2023, out of the 17 political parties and 3 ICs that submitted financial reports, only 9 political parties and 2 ICs declared revenues, amounting to a total of 646,119 lei. In the case of other electoral competitors, no revenues were accrued for the monitored period. Most revenues were reported by PAS – 73%, followed by PN – 14% and PDCM – 4%. The largest share of revenues (74%) is again transfers from the current accounts of political parties, mainly allocations from the state budget.

In the period 8 – 10 November 2023, 11 political parties and 1 IC reported expenditures in total amount of 954,095 lei. The most expenditures were reported by PAS – 70%, followed by PSRM – 15% and PN – 8%.

Following the civic monitoring, Promo-LEX OM estimated that at least 35,401 lei were not spent on electoral activities carried out by 8 political parties. Of the total estimated unreported expenditures, 41% were for PSDE, 22% – PSRM and 18% – PDCM.

According to destination of expenditures estimated as unreported, most were for promotional materials – 41%, followed by social media advertising – 32% and internet advertising – 18%.

During the monitoring period, at least 2 cases of „third party” involvement in financing electoral advertising on social media were found. In this context, Promo-LEX OM reiterates its recommendation that the Electoral Code should regulate political and electoral financing by „third parties”.

Hate speech emphasised

In the period 30 October – 12 November, Promo-LEX identified at least nine cases of hate speech, including two that took a more serious form of manifestation – justifying violence and threats. Another two cases were sexist language and the remaining five took the form of discriminatory language about mental disabilities.

In most instances, the cases identified were based on „political affiliation” and were directed against politicians, members of political parties and their supporters. These nine cases were distributed 1,735 times and had more than 651,000 views.

Please note that on the day of the second round of elections, Promo-LEX OM will delegate a static observer in 174 polling stations and in the other 442 polling stations – the electoral process will be observed by 49 mobile teams of two observers each.

See the full report here.

The report was prepared with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Democratic, Transparency and Accountability Programme and of the European Union under the project „Strengthening the electoral legislative framework and assessing its implementation during the 2023 general local elections”.