Chisinau, August 25, 2009. Promo-LEX Association launched the final report on the monitoring of the campaign for the July 29, 2009. The monitoring was done in 7 electoral constituencies. Monitored period: June 16 – July 29, 2009

The Promo-LEX monitoring effort is pleased to note an increased interest shown by voters from the monitored area for the 29 July 2009 election. At the same time, certain disturbing trends and patterns were noted, which affected the quality of the electoral process in the monitored region.

In the monitored area, the election largely failed to meet the exigencies of a competitive process that would be comparable with the electoral practices in countries with longstanding democratic traditions, due to a tense atmosphere, unlevel field, and violations and discretional interpretation of procedures by electoral bodies and contestants. Voter lists constitute the basis of properly organized elections. In the monitored area, it was noted that the compilation, verification, use and storage of voter lists constituted a faulty practice, and affected the credibility of the entire process.

A selective accreditation of international observation missions and a systematic harassment of accredited international observers are clear derogations from Moldova’s international commitments, particularly to the OSCE. Intimidation of voters and national observers by the local authorities and electoral bodies leaves an unfavorable mark of suspicion with regard to the transparency of the authorities’ actions. Disrupting the operation of an international observation mission only confirms such suspicions.

Approximately nine percent of the total of Moldovan voters, residents of the Transnistrian region, continued to be isolated from the electoral process in the country. Electoral contestants did not conduct campaigning activities in the breakaway region, and the authorities did not use all the possible means to fully enfranchise this group of voters.

The use of public offices and resources for electoral purposes blurs the line between the activity of the state and that of the ruling party, which is in contradiction with the fundamental norms of democratic rule and violates the principle of equal opportunities. To a lesser extent, the same lack of a clear delimitation between the activities of public authorities and the campaign activities of electoral contestants is noted at a local level.

The Promo-LEX Association monitored, in the period between 16 June and 29 July 2009, the early parliamentary elections of 29 July 2009 – including the pre-electoral period, the legal framework and the Election Day – in the Transnistrian region of Moldova and the neighboring rayons (territorial districts): Floresti, Rezina, Dubasari, Anenii Noi, Causeni, and Stefan Voda. The Promo-LEX monitoring effort deployed observers to 249 polling stations of the total of 1987 polling stations opened across the country. The monitored area is populated by approximately 530 thousand voters, which accounts for approximately 20 percent of the total number of voters in Moldova, and includes the Transnistrian region.

The Promo-LEX monitoring effort would like to acknowledge the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the financial support and technical assistance provided for the good implementation of this effort.

DOC – FINAL REPORT MONITORING EARLY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 29 JULY 2009

July 30th 2009. Moldovan citizens residing in the Transnistrian region showed an increased interest for the election, notes Promo-LEX.

Although the separatist administration posed numerous obstacles, and the Moldovan constitutional authorities made insufficient efforts to provide proper information to the electorate of the region, approximately 1,500 more people voted in the early 29 July 2009 election compared to the previous time.

Representatives of the secessionist authorities blocked the roads and thoroughly checked the units of transport at every control post, limiting the free movement of the people. “The constitutional authorities failed to ensure the right to vote of the inhabitants of Corjova village of Dubasari district, on the territory of the poling station opened there,” Igor Guzun said.

Promo-LEX Association is concerned about the attempts to intimidate independent observers, thus intervening in the process of monitoring the elections. Observers were threatened and in some cases even even sworn at. Representatives of local authorities and police were seen repeatedly in 100 meters range from the polling stations.

Voter lists have not been compiled in a qualitative manner. There were many cases noted of presence in the lists of deceased persons, or of non-inclusion in the list of the ID card information. Also, a part of the electoral registers disappeared, while some of the voting certificates were issued on the basis of invalid or inexistent identification papers.

“During the voting process, voting with dubious F-9 form documents was noted: the forms either had the photo attached with scotch tape, the photo was not stamped or the form lacked a proper identification number, declared Ion Manole, president of the Promo-LEX. At the same time, issuance of voter certificates on the basis of invalid or inexistent ID documents was also noted.
Observers noted a differentiated approach at different EBPSs toward accepting or rejecting requests to vote at home. There were registered cases of negligence and irresponsibility of behalf of election bodies with regard to their attributions.

The full versions of the report attached

Contact person:
Ion Manole, president of Promo-LEX Association,
GSM: 69 07 08 00
e-mail: [email protected].

Inna Guleac, PR manager, Promo-LEX,
GSM: 69 33 78 41
e-mail: [email protected].

Chisinau, 27 July 2009. Promo-LEX Association launched the third report on the monitoring of the campaign for the July 29, 2009. The monitoring was done in 7 electoral constituencies, namely Floresti, Rezina, Dubasari, Anenii Noi, Causeni, and Stefan Voda and the Transnistrian region of Moldova. The monitoring report covers the period between July 19-26, 2009.

“The Promo-LEX monitoring effort notes that the electoral process continues with violations of the electoral legislation by the actors involved”, said Ion Manole, President of Promo-LEX.

In the monitored regions, the legal provisions on compiling and publicizing voter lists were largely ignored or only partially respected; errors were identified in these lists, including the inclusion of persons that are passed away.

A pattern of undue influence and intimidation of voters is also noted, including by obliging citizens to participate at electoral meetings. Occurrences of intimidation of representatives of electoral contestants by the public administration have been reported.

Voters from the Transnistrian region were not informed by the electoral authorities on the voting procedure (place and date of elections). Because no voter lists have been prepared for these voters, they were unable to possibly obtain absentee voter certificates.

The monitoring of the July 29th early parliamentary elections in 7 electoral constituencies is a project implemented by Promo-LEX Association within the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections “Coalition 2009”. Nearly 270 election observers were deployed to monitor the elections in Floresti, Rezina, Dubasari, Anenii Noi, Causeni, and Stefan Voda and the Transnistrian region of Moldova.

The project is being implemented with financial support provided by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

DOC – Report No 3

Chisinau, July 21, 2009. Promo-LEX Association launched the second report on the monitoring of the campaign for the July 29, 2009. The monitoring was done in 7 electoral constituencies, namely Floresti, Rezina, Dubasari, Anenii Noi, Causeni, and Stefan Voda and the Transnistrian region of Moldova. The first monitoring report covers the period between July 11-20, 2009.

During the monitoring period, similarly to the findings of the previous report of July 14, the Promo-LEX monitoring effort notes that the electoral law was not fully adhered to by the stakeholders.

In certain localities, non-observance of electoral regarding posting voter lists determined a low interest for verifying those lists by the voters. In addition to violations concerning the deadline and other conditions for posting voter lists, Promo-LEX observers noted shortcomings in the information included by the mayoralties in those preliminary lists. Promo-LEX is concerned that the ambiguous definition of responsibilities in compiling voter lists may affect the quality of the voting.

The monitoring mission also notes a worrying trend of hindering observation efforts for the election. The public authorities and law enforcement intimidated and harassed Promo-LEX observers for their activities. The Stefan Voda district administration hindered the training of observers.

Observers also reported patterns of undue influence on voters on behalf of electoral contestants and public authorities in the monitored districts. The perpetuation of such trends of undue influence on and blackmail of voters for their voting options also raises concerns regarding the fairness of the electoral process.
The monitoring effort noted a pattern among the electoral contestants of violating the legal ban on electoral gifts and material goods to voters. The pattern of posting electoral materials in unauthorized areas, noted in the previous monitoring period, also continued. The systemic attempts of various actors to hinder contestants’ electoral activities also raise concerns.

Promo-LEX observers reported multiple cases of use of public office and resources for electoral purposes. The shortcomings in the legislation and the dishonest use of public resources by certain electoral contestants limits the voters’ opportunities to make uninfluenced voting decisions.

The electoral bureaus of polling stations from the monitored region did not start their work on time. Violations of the electoral calendar thus create difficulties for properly conducting the electoral process.

Promo-LEX will continue to monitor the election process and will publish other monitoring reports to election day. The project is being implemented with financial support provided by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

For more information please contact Association President Promo-LEX, Ion Manole, tel. 49.26.84, e-mail: [email protected]

Chisinau, 14 July 2009. Promo-LEX Association launched the first report on the monitoring of the campaign for the July 29, 2009. The monitoring was done in 7 electoral constituencies, namely Floresti, Rezina, Dubasari, Anenii Noi, Causeni, and Stefan Voda and the Transnistrian region of Moldova. The first monitoring report covers the period between June 16 and July 11 2009.

“Through this monitoring, we want to ensure free and fair elections throughout the country. Given the monitoring experience of the election process in the Transnistrian region, this time we decided to do more. We will observe the electoral process in a number of districts located on the right bank of the Nistru, where polling places are traditionally set up for Transnistrian voters” stated Ion Manole, President of Promo-LEX Association.
The first monitoring report concludes that the electoral campaign is characterized by a series of patterns that can limit the voting opportunities of certain groups of voters and delays the execution of the calendar plan set by the Central Election Commission.

“As the elections will take place on a workday, the Moldovan voters abroad and the Transnistrians will not be able to make their choice. Thus, their right to vote is infringed. The obligation to vote at the temporary place of residence and the lack of additional regulations make the participation of students that are in some other places difficult,” said Ion Guzun, jurist at Promo-LEX.

The observers reported occurrences of undue influence on voters, excessive involvement of law enforcement agencies into the electoral process, undue involvement of underage citizens into campaign activities, and preferential treatment of some electoral contenders by the local public administration.

By the the end of the monitored period, district electoral councils have not yet made public the information on the boundaries of polling stations, address and contact information of polling stations, despite a deadline date set for July 3. Also, the Central Election Commission has failed to collect from the local public administrations, in pre-established terms, the electoral lists. Some of the submitted lists are incomplete.

Promo-LEX Observers have noted that the recommendations made by national monitoring groups in 2005 and 2009 have been implemented in a reduced and selective manner. For the upcoming early elections, the election authorities did not announced the opening of additional polling stations to ensure the voting rights of citizens lfrom the Transnistrian region. Authorities have not investigated the cases of violation of electoral legislation reported by monitoring groups. The electoral lists continue to be a major concern. It remains unclear who holds the final responsibility for drawing up electoral lists. Electoral administration has ordered application of a special stamp on the accompanying sheets of voters ID, without taking any other measures to prevent multiple voting.

Promo-LEX will continue to monitor the election process and will publish other monitoring reports to election day. The project is being implemented with financial support provided by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

For more information please contact Association President Promo-LEX, Ion Manole, tel. 49.26.84, e-mail: [email protected]

DOC – Report No 1