Promo-LEX Election Observation Mission for the Presidential Election in the Republic of Moldova of 1 November 2020: New details on conduct of election

1 November 2020
Time: 7:00 p.m.

Promo-LEX Observation Mission of the Presidential Election in the Republic of Moldova of 1 November 2020 informs that as of 7:00 p.m. the Mission had received 446 incident reports from observers, Promo-LEX analytical team processed 366 reports, and this press release contains information on 170 incidents:

New details on the conduct of election:

Promo-LEX Observation Mission of the Presidential Election in the Republic of Moldova of 1 November 2020 finds,

Intimidating observers or preventing the free observation process at the polling station – 3 cases.

PS 28/4, Singerei, Singerei. Promo-LEX observer was intimidated by PEB Chairperson, who together with the police officer told that the incident should not be reported, but rather the PEB Chairperson should have been notified to solve the situation.
PS 32/10 Stefan Voda, Cioburciu. At 4:55 p.m., after the Promo-LEX observer returned from break, he was intimidated and threatened by PEB Chairperson. The Chairperson told that the observer was not allowed to take pictures and to report incidents before consulting the PEB members, and if he does so he would run into troubles.
PS 28/3, Singerei, Singerei. The thermometer used by the PS showed 37 for a Promo-LEX observer. At a different polling station, the same observer was measure the temperature and everything was fine. After returning back, the observer’s temperature was measured frequently, stating that he was suspicious.

Unjustified presence of unauthorised persons inside or within 100 m from the polling station – 10 cases

PS 18/001 Floresti, Floresti. The Mayor of Floresti spent 10 minutes inside the PS because of the periodic power blackouts. The issue was still unsolved at the time this was reported.
PS 16/043, Edinet, Ruseni. The President of Edinet District entered the PS and had a 5-minute discussion with the PEB Chairperson and left afterwards.
PS 9/7 Calarasi, Calarasi town. After 1 p.m., after having cast their votes, 8 voters entered together the building next to the PS where the PEB members were having lunch. They were acquaintances, friends of the PEB members. The PEB Chairperson did not do anything about it, he talked to them too.
PS 36/55 Gagauzia ATU, Copceac. At around 9:30 a.m. 4 people were seen about 50 meters away from the PS. They were meeting voters and filling out lists. Once the PEB Chairperson was informed about it, they left.
PS 33/1 Taraclia, Taraclia. At around 9:50 a.m., a mobile unit selling protection equipment (masks, gloves, sanitisers) and office supplies was seen in the radius of 70 m away from the PS. Once the police was informed about it, the unauthorised sellers left upon such request from the police.
PS 34/5, Telenesti, Banesti. A representative of a candidate was seen between 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the gate to the premises of the PS – 50 m away from the PS. He was filling out lists. The STO informed the PEB Chairperson about it. The latter asked the person concerned to leave.
PS 27/25 Riscani, Hiliuti. At 1:45 p.m., an MP came in a Toyota. He talked to an PEB member. This MP was not assigned to this PS by place of his residence.
PS 36/8 Gagauzia ATU, Comrat. Starting with 9:00 a.m., a woman was seen periodically nearing the PS and sitting on a bench 15 m away from the entrance to the PS. She was holding a notebook with leaflets and lists with voters’ personal data. When the PEB Chairperson was informed about it at 4:00 p.m., she was asked to leave the area of the PS. The woman left and threw away the leaflets with messages in favour of a particular candidate, as well as the lists with voters’ personal data.
PS 1/379, Italy, Mestre. A person – identified by the PEB Chairperson as a volunteer, was seen periodically on the territory of the PS. It was found out that he was an acquaintance of an PEB member and also helped PEB members to set up the PS.
PS 4/39, Anenii Noi, Varnita. At around 1:15 p.m., in the area of 100 m from the PS, a woman was seen approaching elderly voters and explaining something by fingers and putting down some information in a notebook.

Rumors, attempts or even situations of in-kind or cash rewards offered to voters within the distance of 100 m from the polling station in order to influence them – 4 cases.

PS 37/36 transnistrian region, Rezina. The observer, who was next to the PS door, overheard a voter asking the person accompanying him: ‘Where can I collect the 800 lei I was promised…?’. The voter was given a sign by the latter to wait until they will have left the PS.
PS 37/3 transnistrian region, Rezina. The observer overheard in the hallway of the PS two voters concurring who to vote for according to the instructions they were given. One of them was expected to vote for a particular candidate, and the second – for another candidate. With regards to when they were supposed to collect the money, the answer was that they were to receive it later, in the car, after they provide proof of their votes.
PS 33/25 Taraclia, Novosiolovca. At 11:20 a.m., a voter told the Promo-LEX observer that there was a Nissan (registration plate CDY 003) 60 m away from the PS. The voter said that its driver was offering money in exchange for a vote for a particular candidate. Once the PEB Chairperson became aware of it, that person left the PS vicinity at 2:15 p.m.
PS 25/37 Orhei, Isacova. A mobile store was seen less than 100 m away from the PS. The PEB Chairperson announced the law enforcement officers about it. It was thereafter relocated.

Organised voter transportation (by buses, passenger vans or other vehicles that wouldn’t normally be around) – 21 cases.

PS 11/038 Cimislia, Porumbrei. A green passenger van with registration plate ZZ K 266 was seen bringing voters to the PS. The voters claimed they lived in the neighbouring village and that they were transported only because the PS was far away. The van was seen twice.
PS 36/8 Gagauzia ATU, Comrat. At 11:00 a.m., an Opel with vehicle registration plate GE BF 301 was seen 20-30 meters away from the PS. It transported voters and it still continues. The car was seen at least four times. When the PEB Chairperson was notified, he answered that it was not within his powers to address the situation.
PS 25/045 Orhei, Malaiesti. A grey Toyota Yaris with vehicle registration plate PS 873 was seen transporting voters at 1.00 p.m. and 3.09 p.m. It was transporting elderly voters for whom commuting was difficult. The driver was a councillor.
PS 37/9, transnistrian region, Anenii Noi, Varnita. A yellow van was seen several times transporting people from the transnistrian region to the PS. About 30 voters were transported to the PS in total. The van did not return after the law enforcement officers showed up.
PS 37/36 transnistrian region, Rezina. Two vans came from Ribnita bringing about 30 voters from the transnistrian region. Vehicle registration plates: T959ET, P862CD.
PSs 37/17 and 37/18, transnistrian region, Causeni, Copanca. A van that made several trips was involved in organised voter transportation from the transnistrian region. About 25 people were transported. Vehicle registration plate C097НТ. Another car with vehicle registration plate C266СВ came twice and brought 4 people each time. Other cases also involved sedan cars transporting 3-4 people to vote.
PS 37/38 and 37/39, transnistrian region, Rezina. Vehicles with vehicle registration plates Р183СТ, Р672ЕА, Р274СР were seen transporting voters from the transnistrian region in an organised manner. Each of these vehicles was seen 2-3 times bringing 4 people each time. These vehicles were seen periodically around other PSs in Rezina. Upon arrival, the voters are given packages with a mask and gloves. All packages are identical.
PS 37/22 transnistrian region, Criuleni. A car was seen at 10.13 a.m. and then again at 12.20 p.m. transporting voters from Dubasari, left bank of Nistru River (5 voters each time). Vehicle registration plate E951.
PS 37/18 transnistrian region, Causeni, Copanca. The following vehicles transported voters from the transnistrian region: VW golf С459ЕМ, Fiat С832СР, Mercedes С253ЕМ. These cars commute between the customs and the PS. The employees of the MRT customs hand out packages with protective masks, gloves and pens to the citizens leaving the transnistrian region. A group of veterans positioned at the customs is watching cars coming from the transnistrian region. The vehicles are also checked by the police.
PS 37/33 transnistrian region, Floresti, Sanatauca. A vehicle with registration plate K416AX commuted between Camenca and the PS 3 times, bringing 2-3 voters each time.
PS 37/33 transnistrian region, Rezina. Two cars with registration plates VW Р178ВТ and Т448ВМ travelled 3 times to the PS, bringing 3-4 voters each time.
PS 37/23 transnistrian region, Criuleni. A car with registration plates E056BM travelled 4 times to the PS bringing each time 3 people from the bridge in Ustia.
PS 37/28 and 37/29 transnistrian region, Dubasari, Dorotcaia. Passenger van В518АК made two tript, bringing 4 persons each time.
PS 1/329, Russian Federation, Moscow. Several people travelled to and from the PS by the same bus, in an organised manner.
PS 37/33 transnistrian region, Floresti, Sanatauca. The cars Reno K416AX, Lada R146AT, Mercedes C395BT brought voters from Camenca in an organised manner.
PS 37/18 transnistrian region, Causeni, Copanca. A VW with registration plates C459EM came 4 times to the PS bringing each time 4 voters from the transnistrian region.
PSs 37/20 and 37/21, transnistrian region, Causeni, Hagimus. A van with registration plate VJA 647 was involved in the organised transportation of 9 voters from Bender.
PS 37/3 transnistrian region, Anenii Noi. A high traffic of cars with transnistrian registration plates was reported.
PSs 37/38 and 37/39, transnistrian region, Rezina. A VW Р543СР was involved in organised voter transportation. It was seen at least 5 times, bringing 5 voters each time.
PS 37/33 transnistrian region, Floresti, Sanatauca. A Reno with registration plate K144 was involved in organised regular transportation of voters.
PS 37/25 transnistrian region, Dubasari, Cocieri. One STO overheard at the PS door voters who had just voted talking about going to a place not far from the PS, where the vehicles that brought them were waiting to take them back home.

Acts of violence or bullying against voters or other persons — 1 case.

PS 37/10, transnistrian region, Anenii Noi, Varnita. At about 12 p.m., a group of local inhabitants engaged in a dispute with voters from the transnistrian region. The dispute was resolved when the police showed up.

Presence of advertising materials, electoral billboards and posters in the vicinity of the polling station (within the area of 100 m from the PS) – 15 cases.

PS 7/6 Cahul, Cahul. Posters of a candidate were found less than 100 meters away from the PS. The PEB Chairperson was informed about it.
PS 4/28, Anenii Noi, Mereni. A large advertising billboard of a candidate was spotted less than 100 meters away from the PS. The PEB Chairperson informed the observer that the billboard was in fact located farther than 100 meters away from the PS.
PS 27/023 Riscani, Galaseni. Election posters in favour of a candidate are displayed at about 30 meters from the entrance of the PS.
PS 18/071, Floresti, Zaluceni. Within the area of 100m from the PS, A4 folded leaflets promoting two candidates are displayed on the information board.
PS 18/12, Floresti, Bahrinești. A4 folded leaflets promoting two candidates are displayed at 60m from the PS.
PS 31/32 Vadul Rașcov, Soldanesti. At 50m from the polling station there is a board with posters in support of a candidate.
PS 18/65, Floresti, Trifanesti. At about 80 meters distance from the PS there are boards with electoral messages in favour of four candidates.
PS 37/4 transnistrian region, Anenii Noi, Calfa. Close to the PS there is a banner promoting a candidate.
PS 9/36 Calarasi, Saseni. Within the area of 50 meters from the PS, billboards in favour of a candidate were noticed.
PS 34/17, Telenesti, Ciulucani. At 2:25 p.m., in the vicinity of the PS advertising materials promoting two candidates were noticed. 10 minutes after the PEB chairperson was informed, these ones were removed.
PS 18/61, Floresti, Stefănești. Within the area of 100 meters from the PS, a number of billboards in favour of all candidates were noticed.
PS 1/302, Chisinau, Colonita. A candidate’s banner is displayed within 100 meters from the PS.
PS 18/55, Floresti, Rosietici. Folded leaflets of two candidates were noticed within the area of 20 m form the PS.
PSs 37/4 and 37/5, transnistrian region, Anenii Noi, Calfa. A candidate’s banner was noticed within 100 meters from the PS.
PS 37/41 transnistrian region, Stefan Voda. Close to the PS there is an electoral panel promoting a candidate.

Electioneering or black PR within the radius of 100 m and/or near the polling station to influence the voters – 6 cases.

PS 04/037, Anenii Noi, Tintareni. The local councillor was electioneering on behalf of a candidate within the area of 100 m from the PS. When seeing the Promo-LEX observer, he left.
PS 36/19 Gagauzia ATU, Ceadar Lunga. A voter wearing a cap with a caption about a candidate entered the PS at around 11:30 a.m. The PEB members did not say anything to him.
PS 7/53, Cahul, Pelinei. The observer saw a woman showing up periodically: at 11:00 a.m., 2:45 p.m., 4:57 p.m., less than 100 m away from the PS, electioneering and urging voters on their way to the PS to vote for a particular candidate.
PS 9/40 Calarasi, Temeleuti. A voter posted on Facebook a picture of his ballot paper with a caption about a candidate.
PS 18/13, Floresti, Casunca. A car with registration plate YXY 239 and the name of a candidate written on it parked at 4:20 p.m., 50 m away from the PS. It stayed at the PS for a long time.
PS 11/5, Cimislia. The car of an PEB member was stamped with electoral stickers in favour of a candidate. It was parked the whole day near the PS.

Deficient operation of Elections SAIS (suspended functionalities; situations where Elections SAIS showed that the voter had voted, although the latter claimed he had not) – 11 cases.

PS 14/1 Drochia, Drochia. A voter was not able to vote because he was supposed to have gone to a different PS according to the Elections SAIS, although according to his place of residence – he was supposed to vote in this PS. The voter has not voted.
PS 15/2 Dubasari, Cocieri. A voter whose place of residence was in the area of the PS was assigned in the Elections SAIS to a PS according to the institution where she was studying. She was recorded in an additional list and cast her vote.
PS 25/050 Orhei, Morozeni. The date of birth from voters’ ID card was inconsistent with the date of birth in the Elections SAIS. The operators noticed this inconsistency starting with 4 p.m. CEC informed them that is was a system error and that they had to make sure that the IDNP matched.
PS 7/6 Cahul, Cahul. Although according to their place of residence 10 voters were supposed to have been assigned to PS 7/6, they were referred to another PS by the Elections SAIS.
PS 01/125, Chisinau, Center. The Elections SAIS showed that a voter had already voted. The voter was told he was not allowed to vote again. The voter showed the PEB members the loose leaf of his ID card, where no stamp confirming he had voted had been placed and insisted that they checked again. The repeated check showed that the voter hadn’t voted and he was therefore allowed to vote.
PS 01/232, Chisinau, Rascani. Elections SAIS didn’t work for about 15 minutes starting 4:30 p.m. The PEB Chairperson sought technical assistance. The voters were recorded on paper during the time that the system didn’t work.
PS 01/154, Chisinau, Ciocana. A family showed up at the PS, all of them residing on the same address. One of the family members was told that according to the Elections SAIS, he was supposed to go to another PS to vote. The PEB Chairperson recommended him to call the hotline. The voter left without having voted.
PS 27/25 Riscani, Hiliuti. A voter was neither on the list of voter, nor in Elections SAIS. The PEB officials said they knew him and that he was from that constituency. CEC was notified, the voter was included on the additional lists and voted.
PS 1/383, Italy, Bergamo. One voter was not found in the SVR by his IDNP. It said that such a person did not exist.
PS 37/11, transnistrian region, Anenii Noi, Varnita. There was no connection with the Elections SAIS for about 5 minutes.
PS 1/34 Chisinau, Botanica. Starting 7:15 a.m. the connection with Elections SAIS was gone for 10 minutes. Voting was stalled for that period.

Deficiencies in the lists of voters (inconsistent addresses; deceased voters; signatures in the wrong place – for other people) – 11 cases.

PS 01/241, Chisinau, Riscani. One voter found that a stranger was indicated as living in his apartment. The same situation happened during the previous years. Although the voter previously checked with the Multifunctional Centre of PSA, the individual was not identified. The PEB members recommended him to check one more time with the Multifunctional Centre.
PS 16/13, Edinet, Cupcini, Chetrosica Veche. One voter noticed that someone signed instead of him on the main lists of voters. The PEB Chairperson told to the voter that an PEB member had made a mistake. The voter was allowed to cast his vote.
PS 25/009, Orhei, Orhei. Various voters were not on the lists of voters, because they were assigned to other PSs. The situation resulted into disputes and inconveniences. Various such incidents were identified throughout the day.
PS 01/054 Chisinau, Botanica. A voter informed PEB members that the list of voters contained the name of an individual who did not live at that address and has had residence at another address for a long time.
PS 01/266, Chisinau, Vadul lui Voda. A voter who came at the polling station was identified in Elections SAIS, but was not identified in the voter list. The voter, irritated, left the polling station and gave up casting his vote. PEB Chairperson tried to identify him to persuade him to come back and vote.
PS 21/014 Ialoveni, Costesti. Until the time of reporting, about 20 voters were not found on the main lists of voters because they were assigned to other PSs. This fact provoked yelling and dissatisfaction in the PSs.
PS 9/40 Calarasi, Temeleuti. A deceased person was identified in a list of voters.
PS 36/40 Gagauzia ATU, Cazaclia. A voter was not on the list of voters and was included in the additional lists.
PS 32/31 Stefan Voda, Talmaza. Various voters revolted because they were not found in the lists of voters and were redirected to another PS. The voters usually voted at that polling station. Two spouses with the same residence were assigned to two different polling stations.
PS 27/25 Riscani, Hiliuti. A voter was neither on the list of voter, nor in Elections SAIS. The PEB officials said they knew him and that he was from that constituency. CEC was notified, the voter was included on the additional lists and voted.
PS 18/55, Floresti, Rosietici. PEB Chairperson informed the observer that residents from the neighbouring village – Rosietici Vechi, are included in the lists of voters.

Unjustified group voting (2 or more people were in the voting booth at the same time) – 3 cases

PS 01/108, Chisinau, Buiucani. Two voters (mother and daughter) entered a single voting booth. The daughter was telling her mother who to vote for. PEB members warned them and the daughter stepped out.
PS 13/005, Donduseni, Baraboi. One of the three ballot boxes inside the PS was sealed with 3 seals only.
PS 01/003 Chisinau, Botanica. Two voters voted in the same voting booth having explained they were elderly, although they did not present any visual impairments.

Taking pictures of the ballot papers, other violations of the secret ballot (submission of ID card on the basis of which the voter had already voted, inappropriate laying out of booths because of which one could see who other voters cast their vote for) – 28 cases.

PS 18/22, Floresti, Floresti. A voter made a picture of his ballot paper in the voting booth. The PEB Chairperson warned him, which provoked a dispute. The voter introduced the ballot paper in the ballot box.
PS 01/108, Chisinau, Buiucani. One voter took a picture of the ballot paper. When he was asked to erase the picture he refused and explained the as the right to take pictures. The police documents the case.
PS 01/105, Chisinau, Buiucani. A voter (mother) told to another voter (son) from the neighbouring booth who to vote for. When he exited the voting booth, the son reconfirmed that he voted as he was told to.
PS 01/029 Chisinau, Botanica. One voter took a picture of the ballot paper. When he was asked to delete the picture he refused to comply. Upon the insistence of PEB members, the voter was aggressive and threatened to tear the ballot paper in public, in front of the observers. The police was invited to the site.
PS 01/091, Chisinau, Buiucani. One voter took a picture of his ballot paper. The observers notified the PEB members about this deviation, but they did not step in.
PS 7/8 Cahul, Cahul t. One voter took a picture of the ballot paper. Later, after the PS members intervened, the picture was deleted.
PS 23/031 Nisporeni, Seliste. A voter made a picture of his ballot paper in the voting booth. The PEB Chairperson responded to the situation and the picture was deleted.
PS 20/046 Hincesti, Mingir. One voter took a picture of the ballot paper. The observers notified the PEB Chairperson about the incident. At the insistence of PEB Chairperson, the voter refused to delete the picture.
PS 32/31 Stefan Voda, Talmaza. At 12:30 p.m. a voter took a picture of the ballot paper. Not a single PEB member did anything until the voter left the polling station.
PS 36/8 Gagauzia ATU, Comrat. At 2:37 p.m. a voter took a picture of the ballot paper. When the PEB Chairperson was notified, he answered that he could not step in in such cases.
PS 32/8, Straseni, Bucovat. At 3:20 p.m. a voter took a picture of the ballot paper.
PS 36/57 Gagauzia ATU, Dezghinja. At 3:12 p.m. a voter was noticed when he took a picture of the ballot paper. After throwing the ballot paper in the ballot box, the individual was stopped by the PEB Chairperson who took his phone. The PEB Chairperson called the police. When the police arrived, the PEB Chairperson gave the phone to them.
PS 01/087, Chisinau, Buiucani. When exiting the voting booth, the husband said to his wife, who was heading to the voting booth, who he voted for and showed in the ballot paper the candidate he chose.
PS 01/137, Chisinau, Center. One voter took a picture of his ballot paper. The PEB Chairperson asked the voter to delete the picture and he complied.
PS 01/105, Chisinau, Buiucani. One voter took a picture of his ballot paper in front of the polling station and observers. PEB members asked him to delete the picture in front of them and the voter complied.
PS 01/192, Chisinau, Rascani. At 5:56 p.m. a voter took a picture of his ballot paper. One member of the PEB asked him to delete the picture.
PS 9/40 Calarasi, Temeleuti. One voter took a picture of his ballot paper and posted it on Facebook. The PEB Chairperson warned the voters about not being allowed to take pictures of the ballot paper.
PS 32/3 Stefan Voda, Stefan Voda. One voter took a picture of the ballot paper. After that, the PEB Chairperson asked him to delete the picture and allowed him to throw the ballot paper in the ballot box.
PS 1/380, Italy, Milano. One voter took a picture of the ballot paper.
PS 1/377, Italy, Treviso. One voter took a picture of the ballot paper, but at the PEB Chairperson’s request it was deleted.
SV 1/349 Germany, Frankfurt on Main. One voter took a picture of the ballot paper.
SV 1/353 Germany, Kassel. A voter made a picture of his ballot paper in the voting booth. He was seen by the PEB Chairperson and asked to delete the picture. The voter, revolted, left the PS after deleting the picture.
PS 1/377, Italy, Treviso. One voter took a picture of the ballot paper, but at the PEB chairperson’s request it was deleted.
PS 1/405, Netherlands, The Hague. One voter took a picture of the ballot paper.
PS 37/1 transnistrian region, Chisinau. A voter made a picture of his ballot paper in the voting booth. PEB chairperson informed him that this was illegal.
PS 37/6 transnistrian region, Anenii Noi, Gura Bicului. About 20 voters from the transnistrian region were brought to the PS in an organised manner.
PS 37/1 transnistrian region, Chisinau. One voter took a picture of the ballot paper with the mark ‘voted’ on it. PEB Secretary reprimanded him but he replied that being a lawyer he knows his rights – all this in a raised voice. The PEB chairperson stressed it once again, but to no avail.
PS 37/1 transnistrian region, Chisinau. In response to a voter taking a picture of the ballot paper PEB members reprimanded him without insisting that the picture be deleted. The voter threw the ballot in the ballot box and left the PS.

Unjustified termination/suspension of voting at the polling station – 5 cases.

PS 18/012, Floresti, Bahrinești. Between 5:14 p.m. and 5:17 p.m., the electricity in the PS went out, during which time the voting process was interrupted. After the electricity supply restarted, the voting process was resumed.
PS 7/60 Cahul, Vadul lui Isac. The voting process was stalled for 5 minutes to carry out the disinfection. PEB members stated that they did this 3 times during the day.
PS 11/5, Cimislia. The car of an PEB member was stamped with electoral stickers in favour of a candidate. It was parked the whole day near the PS.
PS 1/1 Chisinau, Botanica. The voting process is stopped for 10 minutes for disinfection – during which time all voters are asked to wait outside.
PS 1/14 Chisinau, Botanica. During the 10-15 minutes breaks for premises disinfection the voting process is stopped, during which the voters are not allowed to enter the PS and vote.

Failure to observe COVID-19 protection and prevention measures – 37 cases.

PS 19/017, Glodeni, Cuhnesti. The PEB chairperson did not allow a voter to enter the PS for not having a protection mask. The voter left without voting.
PS 32/033 Stefan Voda, Volintiri. The voters’ temperatures are not taken when entering the PS. After some discussions among PEB members, taking the temperature was resumed.
PS 18/065, Floresti, Trifanesti. The body temperature register is missing in the PS.
PS 01/154, Chisinau, Ciocana. A voter refused his temperature to be taken – as a result he decided not to vote at all.
PS 11/024, Cimislia, Gura Galbenei. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS.
PS 01/190, Chisinau, Riscani. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS (15 voters, 3 voting booths). PEB members stepped in and asked the voters to wait outside the PS until they were invited to vote.
PS 01/203, Chisinau, Riscani. Inside the PS there are consistently more voters than the number of voting booths – as a result it gets crowded. PEB members did nothing.
PS 01/292, Chisinau, Stauceni. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS (10 voters, 4 voting booths). PEB Chairperson solved the issue at that time.
PS 01/196, Chisinau, Riscani. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS (7 voters, 2 voting booths). PEB Chairperson stepped in and blocked the access for other voters until the number of people within PS decreased.
PS 01/195, Chisinau, Riscani. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS (5 voters, 2 voting booths). PEB Chairperson asked a few voters to leave the PS, in order to be invited later.
PS 01/291, Chisinau, Stauceni. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS. PEB members did nothing, the crowd spread out by itself.
PS 9/7 Calarasi, Calarasi. Three voters expressed their vote at 2:00 p.m., even their temperature was above 37.2. The access was allowed by the doctor at the entrance. PEB Chairperson was not present at that time and knows nothing about the incident. Additionally, an operator within PS had fever higher than 37.2.
PS 10/41 Causeni, Taraclia. There were 6 persons and 3 voting booths in the PS. The PEB Chairperson did not do anything about it.
PS 9/7 Calarasi, Calarasi town. A lady wearing incorrectly her mask entered the PS. She was wearing it on the hand. Although she was warned by the PEB Chairperson, the voter refused to wear the mask. The lady expressed her right to vote, but without wearing properly the protection mask.
PS 32/21 Stefan Voda, Popeasca. At 1:59 p.m. the observer noticed that neither voters, nor PEB members kept the social distance of 1 meter.
PS 32/21 Stefan Voda, Popeasca. At 4:00 p.m. more than 7 voters were allowed inside the PS, but there are 3 voting booths in the polling station. The social distance is not observed.
PS 10/36 Causeni, Plop Stiubei. At 4:15 p.m., a voter with fever higher than 37 showed up at the PS. The Chairperson informed the voter that he cannot create individual condition for him to vote in the PS, and the mobile ballot box was already gone. The voter has not voted.
PS 10/4 Causeni, Causeni. At 4:45 p.m. there were 12 voters, although the polling station had 5 voting booths. The PEB Chairperson did nothing about it.
PS 18/071, Floresti, Zaluceni. More voters than the number of voting booths were inside the PS. The PEB Chairperson did not step in.
PS 32/011 Stefan Voda, Copceac. More voters than the number of voting booths entered inside the PS (6 voters, while in the PS were 3 voting booths).
PS 01/193, Chisinau, Riscani. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS (8 voters, while in the PS were 3 voting booths). PEB members solved the issue.
PS 01/213, Chisinau, Riscani. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS (12 voters, while in the PS there were 4 voting booths only). PEB members did nothing in order to solve the issue.
PS 18/65, Floresti, Trifanesti. The social distance is not observed at the entrance of the PS.
PS 37/12, transnistrian region, Anenii Noi, Varnita. The social distance is not observed at the entrance of the PS.
PS 18/44, Floresti, Lunga. Some observers do not respect the social distance and do not wear properly the protection mask.
PS 32/21 Stefan Voda, Popeasca. At 5:41 p.m. more than 6 voters were allowed inside the PS with 3 voting booths. The physical distancing is not observed.
PS 37/3, transnistrian region, Anenii Noi. At 11:18 a.m there were 6 persons in the PS, though there are only 2 voting booths.
PS 18/59, Floresti, Sevirova. The failure to observe the social distancing between PEB members was reported.
PS 37/36 transnistrian region, Rezina. Six voters entered the PS, although there are only 2 voting booths. Moreover, 2 observers from parties were not wearing the mask within the PS.
PS 31/26, Soldanesti, Raspopeni. The voters were queueing up at the entrance of the PS, without wearing masks or observing the social distance.
PS 18/37, Floresti, Iliciovca. The social distancing between PEB members is not observed.
PS 18/65, Orhei, Floresti, Trifanesti. The social distancing between PEB members is not observed.
PS 18/28, Floresti, Frumusica. The failure to respect the social distancing between PEB members and observers from political parties was noticed.
PS 18/52, Floresti, Prodanesti. The register on monitoring the PEB members’ temperature is missing, and the PEB Chairperson and a member are not wearing the mask properly.
PS 16/12, Edinet, Cupcini. The temperature of PEB members is not measured within the PS. They do not wear masks, and the social distancing between observers is not ensured.
PS 18/61, Floresti, Stefanesti. PEB Chairperson and members did not wear correctly the protection masks.
PS 31/24, Soldanesti, Pohoarna. PEB members did not wear face shields, and there were 7 voters in the PS, though there are only 3 voting booths.
PS 18/16, Floresti, Ciutulesti. There were 5 persons in the PS, given that there were only 3 voting booths.
PS 6/35, Briceni, Slobozia Sirauti. The temperature is not taken, and an PEB member is not wearing the mask.

Ballot boxes were not sealed according to the legal procedures/tearing/damage or absence of seals on ballot boxes — 8 cases.

PS 29/054 Soroca, Stoicani. One of the stationary ballot boxes was sealed only with one seal. PEB members said it would be used as a mobile ballot box.
PS 2/52 Balti, Balti. At 4:55 p.m the Promo-LEX observer noted that the mobile ballot box had one damaged seal. PEB Chairperson said he would solve the issue.
PS 31/006, Soldanesti, Gauzeni. The mobile ballot box was incorrectly sealed. PEB members affixed 2 seals on the ziplock.
PS 06/031 Briceni, Medveja. The mobile ballot box was not sealed. PEB members said they intended to seal it when heading off to voters’ homes.
PS 29/24 Soroca, Cosauti. The stationary ballot boxes had only 2 seals each. PEB members stated they did not know they had to affix 4 seals.
PS 4/1, Anenii Noi, Anenii Noi town. The observer noted that the mobile ballot box had two seals instead of one.
PS 13/5, Donduseni, Baraboi. The ballot box was sealed only with 3 seals.
PS 6/35, Briceni, Slobozia Sirauti. The ballot boxes were sealed only with 3 seals.

Other – 7 cases

PS 01/228, Chisinau, Rascani. A voter declared she was called by PEB members to show up at the PS in order to express her right to vote. PEB members said that they had called nobody and the accusation was unfounded. The voter has written a complaint with respect to this issue. After several accusations, the voter expressed her right to vote.
PS 15/11 Dubasari, Oxentea. An observer was called by an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as a PSRM representative and urged him to vote, without mentioning who to vote for.
PS 8/34 Cantemir, Hanaseni. At 3:35 p.m. the Promo-LEX observer was called by the representative of a candidate and asked if he voted. According to the representative, the phone number was selected from the list containing the signatory people supporting the candidate, although the observer has not signed such a list.
PS 7/6 Cahul, Cahul town. At 10:20 a.m. the PEB Secretary proposed to the observers to sign the special form for vote tabulation, which had been already signed by the PEB Chairperson, stating that in the evening the schedule is going to be busy. The form was signed by several observers. Promo-LEX observer did not sign it.
PS 01/087, Chisinau, Buiucani. As many as 3-4 polling stations are located within the ‘Onisifor Ghibu’ High School. PS inscriptions are tiny and mislead the voters. As a result it gets crowded, voters are revolting and are leaving home in whole groups without voting.
PS 2/22 Balti, Balti. The electricity went out for a short period of time (5 minutes), and then was resumed. The process was not interrupted.
PS 01/150, Chisinau, Buiucani. One voter voted on the basis of an ID card, but without an loose leaf. The PEB Chairperson asked him to sign an affidavit confirming that he had not voted elsewhere.

The press release is developed as part of the Observation Mission for the Elections of the President of the Republic of Moldova on 1 November 2020 and is conducted by Promo-LEX Association with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) via the ‘Democracy, Transparency and Accountability’ Program, the Good Governance Department of Soros Foundation-Moldova under ‘Monitoring the Presidential Elections of 1 November 2020’ Project, and the Council of Europe under ‘Support for civic observation of 2020 Presidential Election in polling stations abroad’. ‘Hate speech’ component is supported by Justice and Human Rights Department of Soros Foundation-Moldova under ‘Consolidation of a platform for the development of activism and education in the area of human rights in Moldova – stage IV’ Project.

The opinions set out in the public reports and press releases of Promo-LEX OM are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of funders or partners. The content of this report can be subject to editing.

If there are any discrepancies between the text in Romanian and its translation, the provisions formulated in Romanian shall prevail.

For more information, please contact: Inga Stegarescu, Press Officer of Promo-LEX Association GSM: 069 26 96 84; E-mail: [email protected]

Promo-LEX Election Observation Mission for the Presidential Election in the Republic of Moldova of 1 November 2020 | new details on conduct of election

1 November 2020
Time: 2:00 pm

Promo-LEX Observation Mission of the Presidential Election in the Republic of Moldova of 1 November 2020 informs that as of 2:00 pm the Mission had received 326 incident reports from observers, Promo-LEX analytical team processed 196 reports, and this press release contains information on 161 incidents:

New details on the conduct of election:

Promo-LEX Observation Mission of the Presidential Election in the Republic of Moldova of 1 November 2020 finds,

Unjustified presence of unauthorised persons inside or within 100 m from the polling station – 11 cases

PS 36/7 Gagauzia ATU, Comrat. At 9:15 a.m., two people wearing clothes with the inscription ”Народный Антикризисный Штаб- НАШ” [eng. National Anti-Crisis Task Force] showed up at the entrance of the PS. The PEB Chairperson reacted 15 min and the police asked them to leave the PS. They justified being present there in order to help persons with disabilities. Later these persons left the PS at a distance of about 70-100 meters.
PS 36/6 Gagauzia ATU, Comrat. At 9:23 a.m., there was a person wearing clothes with the inscription ”Народный Антикризисный Штаб- НАШ” [eng. National Anti-Crisis Task Force] at the entrance of PS. PEB Chairperson was notified and he asked the former to leave the PS. This person left the premises and did not justify his presence.
PS 36/8 Gagauzia ATU, Comrat. At 9:45, there were 2 persons wearing clothes with ”НАШ” inscription within the area of 100 meters from the PS, talking to people. At 10:00 a.m., PEB Chairperson asked them to leave the area. These persons left the PS area (100 m) in one hour.
PS 36/44 Gagauzia ATU, Comrat. At 9:15, there were 2 persons wearing clothes with ”НАШ” inscription within the area of 100 meters from the PS. They stayed there for 15 minutes. Later, PEB Chairperson together with the police asked them to leave the area of 100 m from the polling station.
PS 1/218, Chisinau, Rascani. One person, who supposedly is an observer from the nearby polling station, entered the PS to talk to another observer (supposedly from a candidate) about the correctness of voting with a mobile ballot box. That person spent about 15-20 minutes in the polling station.
PS 32/8, Stefan Voda, Carahasani. At 9:40, a voter, after having exercised his right to vote, remained within the PS, and then after leaving, returned several times to the PS. PEB Chairperson asked him to leave the PS. This person stayed within the area of 100 m. from the PS for about 20 minutes to talk to voters.
PS 7/3, Cahul. ”Anti-Crisis Community Center” NGO, represented by 2 people wearing the Center’s visibility signs are accompanying and transporting voters to the PS (elderly persons).
PS 24/25, Ocnita, Mihalaseni. A lady, chairperson of a territorial branch of a party, was discussing with people within the area of 100 meters from the PS. She had stayed there for about one hour.
PS 1/163, Chisinau, Ciocana. At about 09:11, there were two persons within the PS, telling people that they could help them vote. When asked by the PEB Chairperson, the respective persons left.
PS 25/031 Orhei, Cucuruzeni. After casting their vote, several persons supporting a candidate, had stayed for 30 min. within the area of 10 meters from the PS, without any reprimand by PEB members.
PS 1/325, Russian Federation, Moscow. There were unauthorised persons within the PS. After 20 minutes, they were notified and left the PS.

Rumors, attempts or even situations of in-kind or cash rewards offered to voters within the are of 100 m from the polling station in order to influence them – 9 cases.

Transnistrian region, Rezina. In the vicinity of Ribnita-Rezina bridge, observers noticed that all voters coming from the transnistrian region have protection equipment (mask and gloves) of the same type, and many of them had similar bags.
PS 37/17 transnistrian region, Causeni. A vehicle was parked near the PS, where voters coming from the transnistrian region received masks, gloves and pens. After observers made video and photo evidence, the vehicle left.
PS 37/14 transnistrian region, Causeni. Voters from the transnistrian region came to PEB members to ask where they could get the money for voting. After PEB members explain that they will not be paid for voting, some of them left without voting.
PS 37/19, transnistrian region, Causeni, Firladeni. Discussion with voters from the transnistrian region revealed that electors from Bender were remunerated with 100 rubles, and those from Tiraspol – with 400 rubles.
PS 1/327, Russian Federation, Moscow. Observer from a party did not notice how an unknown person gave money to a lady that exited the PS.
PS 2/58 Balti, Balti town. A lady was electioneering within an area of 15-20 m from the PS — she approached a man and gave him some cash.
PS 18/54, Floresti, Radulenii Vechi. At 08:40 a.m. — there is a market and three stores at a distance of about 300 m from the PS. For about 20 minutes, observers saw a number of persons entering the store, immediately after exiting the PS, in order to take what was offered to them. While exiting the store, the respective voters did not carry anything they might had bought in the store. There was a person in each store to monitor the situation and take note of who was coming into the store.
PS 1/54 Chisinau, Botanica. PEB members informed observers about a case of rewarding voters. After a voter cast his vote, the observer from an electoral candidate left the premises together with the voter and gave him cash (banknotes of 100-200 lei were noticed). This case was also noticed by an PEB member, who went out to buy something from a nearby shop.
PS 29/10 Soroca, Soroca. At 10.30 a.m. and 11.20 a.m., a lady was noticed holding several lists. She was in an old abandoned building, across the polling station. A number of voters were noticed to go to that building after casting their votes. It is assumed that they were paid. The PEB Chairperson notified the police.

Organised voter transportation (by buses, passenger vans or other vehicles that wouldn’t normally be around) – 17 cases.

Transnistrian region, Rezina. Voters are brought by buses from the transnistrian region to the control point near the bridge connecting Rezina and Ribnita. They get off at the control point and then walk or drive by cars to the PSs in Rezina.
PS 37/37 transnistrian region, Rezina. Personal vehicles were noticed near ‘Olimp’ Theoretical Lyceum, where the PS is located, that drive back and forth and transport voters from the transnistrian region.
PS 37/22 and 37/23, transnistrian region, Criuleni. A number of vehicles were noticed to cross several times the bridge near Criuleni. A group of combatants are located in the same region, and document all citizens from the left bank of the Nistru river, who cross the bridge.
PS 10/7 transnistrian region, Causeni. Several sources informed the observer that a passenger van transported voters from the transnistrian region, who got off the van in fron of the multi-purpose center of Causeni t.
PS 37/10, Transnistrian region, Anenii Noi, Varnita. Voters are transported in an organised manner to the PS.
PS 37/38 and 37/39, transnistrian region, Rezina. At least 12 vehicles were noticed to transport voters in an organised manner, of which at least two are passenger vans (P041BH, P402CE, P703EA, P210BT, P529CO, P612cx, P747BE, P059CT, P377CE, T959ET (passenger van), P377CE (passenger van)).
PS 37/20 and 37/21, transnistrian region, Criuleni, Hagimus. In Bender, about 32 persons were transported in an organised manner with passenger vans with a capacity of 8 places.
PS 37/24 and 37/25 transnistrian region, Dubasari, Cocieri. Voter from the transnistrian region are transported in an organised manner to the Cocieri bridge. There they get off the bus and are then transported by several smaller cars, with a capacity of up to 7 seats, to the PS in Cocieri. The vehicles used to transport passengers to the PS have the following registration numbers: У613уа98 (Russian Federation), DB AH 203.
PS 37/19, transnistrian region, Causeni, Firladeni. There are many cars with transnistrian registration numbers at the PS. The drivers took pictures at the PS to have evidence that they brought people. The drivers take turns to different PSs to create the impression that voters are coming by themselves. Registration numbers of the vehicles that transport citizens: T885МТ, T212TT.
PS 11/26 Cimislia, Hirtop. At 12:20 p.m., a passenger van was noticed; about 12 persons got out of it and walked to the PS to cast their votes. Registration number: CM AI 116.
PSs 37/20 and 37/21, transnistrian region, Causeni, Hagimus. Organised transportation for voters from the transnistrian region is provided from the Bender customs. Voters are transported to the PS in groups of 7-8 persons by a car. When the locals noticed that, they tried to block the access road to the PS. A representative of an election contender was among them.
PSs 37/17 and 37/18, transnistrian region, Causeni, Copanca. Citizens from the transnistrian region are transported from Copanca customs by cars, in groups of 5 people. The cars are travelling back and forth and have brought about 30 persons. Registration numbers: T723EX, VW Șaran 905, Mercedes Sprinter С097НТ.
PS 37/6 transnistrian region, Anenii Noi, Gura Bicului. Voters from the transnistrian region were brought in an organised manner by a passenger van. As reported by police offices, who stopped the van, this vehicle was bringing voters for the second time.
PS 01/262, Chisinau, Singera. At 11.15 a.m., a yellow Mercedes Sprinter, registration number CKV 577, was noticed. Nine persons got out of it. The passenger van had neither a note saying it was transporting passengers, not any sign of public transportation.
PS 36/44 Gagauzia ATU, Chirsova. At 9:00 a.m., a white passenger van was noticed to transport 5-6 voters each time. During one hour, the van transported three groups of voters.
PS 26/9 Rezina, Busauca. A white Ford Transit with the registration number RZ AH 757 was seen to transport twice voters, between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. About 10 voters were transported at 10:00 a.m., and about 4 voters – at 11:00 a.m. The driver of the van was the village mayor. This vehicle was seen twice in the vicinity of the polling station.
PS 28/37, Singerei, Dobrogea Veche. Between 11.00 a.m. and 11.10 a.m., a green Mercedes van was noticed in the area of the PS. At least 4 persons were transported in an organised manner.

Presence of advertising materials, electoral billboards and posters in the vicinity of the polling station (within the area of 100 m from the PS) – 12 cases.

PS 10/23 Causeni, Copanca. Posters promoting a candidate are displayed at a distance of about 25 meters from the PS.
PS 18/63, Floresti, Temeleuti. Electoral posters of three candidates are displayed within 100 meters from the PS.
PS 34/33, Telenesti, Pistruieni. The posters of three candidates are displayed at a distance of about 35-40 meters from the PS.
PS 11/30 Cimislia, Ivanovca Nouă. There is an information panel displaying posters of four candidates at the entry of the PS.
PS 29/30 Soroca, Dubna. Election posters of all election contenders are displayed at about 10 meters of the PS, on the fence of the Palace of Culture.
PS 18/32 Floresti, Gura Camencii. Posters promoting two candidates are displayed at about 30 meters of the PS.
PS 18/012, Floresti, Bahrinești. A4 folded leaflets of two candidates are displayed at about 50-60m from the PS. PEB chairperson is not aware about their existence.
PS 36/16, ATUG, Ceadîr-Lunga. Two banners in favour of some candidates are displayed in front of the PS.
PS 29/30 Soroca, Dubna. In the proximity of the PS electoral billboards in favour of all candidates are displayed.
PS 27/32 Riscani, Petruseni. Printed materials promoting a candidate are displayed at a distance of about 70 meters from the PS.
PS 27/22 Riscani, Galaseni. Printed materials promoting a candidate are displayed at a distance of about 20 meters from the PS.
PS 25/34 Orhei, Ghetlova. On a pole at about 60 meters from the PS a leaflet in support of a candidate is displayed.

Electioneering or black PR within the radius of 100 m and/or near the polling station to influence the voters – 7 cases.

PS 2/42 Balti, Balti. At 9:03 a.m., after he made his choice in the ballot paper, a voter urged other voters to vote for a particular candidate. Although the PEB Chairperson reprimanded him, the voter continued to urge people to vote for that candidate on his way out of the PS.
PS 2/58 Balti, Balti. At 8:52 a.m. four women who were standing at the PS entrance urged a young voter to vote for a particular candidate. Two of them continued electioneering at the bus stop just 15-20 meters away from the PS.
PS 1/51 Chisinau, Botanica. An elderly voter asked PEB members how come a particular politician was not on the ballot paper and about how she could vote particularly for him. The PEB members informed her about the candidate supported by the candidate she was looking for, making certain allegations out loud, such as ‘although he stole, he also did something’, electioneering, this way, in favour of that candidate. At last, the voter agreed to go to the voting booth and cast her vote.
PS 32/8 Stefan Voda, Carahasani. A car was seen parked 100 meters away from the PS at 9:30 a.m. There were three people in that car, allegedly supporters of a party, who were greeting and talking to voters. The car remained parked in the vicinity of the PS for 2 hours.
PS 32/10 Stefan Voda, Cioburciu. At 11:24 a.m., a voter broke the secret ballot rule by shouting out loud who he had voted for. He left the PS after having been called on to by the PEB Chairperson.
PS 1/362, Italy, Pesaro Urbino. An A4 sheet of paper was stuck on the PS door with a negative message to a candidate.
PS 1/329, Russian Federation, Moscow. One observer assigned by a candidate was sworn at and verbally assaulted by another observer.

Deficient operation of Elections SAIS (suspended functionalities; situations where Elections SAIS showed that the voter had voted, although the latter claimed he had not) – 16 cases.

PS 14/1 Drochia, Drochia. The operator did not let the voter vote because Elections SAIS showed that the voter had already voted. In his turn, the voter claimed he had not voted, but that he had already been searched in the system in another PS, where he had been referred to this PS. The PEB Chairperson called CEC. The operators of both PSs were required to provide written explanations.
PS 32/28 Stefan Voda, Stefanesti. Internet connection was gone for about 5-7 minutes.
PS 37/33 Transnistrian region, Floresti. The birth date of a voter was inconsistent with his birth date in the Elections SAIS. The PEB Chairperson asked him to go to the PSA to have this inconsistency addressed.
PS 01/092 Chisinau, Buiucani. One voter was not allowed to vote. He was told to go to another PS, according to the Elections SAIS. However, the voter was able to prove on the basis of his identity documents that his address was in the area of this PS. Before this incident, the voter had already gone to vote/check in two other polling stations.
PS 01/137, Chisinau, Center. Elections SAIS showed that the voter who showed up in the PS was supposed to vote in another PS. This voter was told the same in the second PS he went to, having been referred back to the first PS. When the voter showed up for the second time at the first PS, Elections SAIS displayed that he had already voted, although no stamp confirming it had been applied in his ID loose leaf. After a double check, the voter was allowed to cast his vote.
PS 36/9 Gagauzia ATU, Comrat. An internet connection issue occurred at 7:30 a.m., which made it impossible to access Elections SAIS. At 8:05 a.m., the PEB Chairperson decided to let voters in without having to register with the SAIS operators. SAIS resumed operation at 8:20 a.m.
PS 26/31 Rezina, Pripiceni-Razesi. A person who showed up at the PS was told by the SAIS operators that he had already voted and that the could not cast another vote. The voter claimed he hadn’t voted. The PEB Chairperson informed CEC about it, and was told by the latter that an error had occurred. The voter was not allowed to vote in this PS.
PS 1/362, Italy, Pesaro Urbino. Despite stable internet connection, SAIS operators did not have access to Elections SAIS for about 20 minutes at around 10:50 a.m.
PSs 37/32, 37/33, 37/34 and 37/35 transnistrian region, Floresti, Sanatauca. For several voters from the transnistrian region the data in the ID card was inconsistent with the data in the Elections SAIS. Many had expired ID cards or the birth dates were not the same. Voters in such situations were referred to the PSA, where queues formed immediately.
PS 37/6 transnistrian region, Anenii Noi, Gura Bicului. The operators were not able to access Elections SAIS on one of the computers. It became possible only after SA ‘Moldtelecom’ staff addressed the situation.
PS 37/25 transnistrian region, Dubasari, Cocieri. The birth date of several voters from the transnistrian region was inconsistent with the one from Elections SAIS. Having consulted with CEC on these matters, the voters concerned were allowed to vote. All these cases were recorded by the PEB members.
PS 1/22 Chisinau, Botanica. The ID scanner didn’t work, so the operators had to introduce the data manually.
PS 18/026, Floresti, Cunicea. Two voters (spouses) who live on the same address, were supposed to vote in two different PSs according to Elections SAIS. The STO reported it was not an one-off case.

Deficiencies in the lists of voters (inconsistent addresses; deceased voters; signatures in the wrong place – for other people) – 13 cases.

PS 37/22 Transnistrian region, Criuleni. One voter placed his signature above another voter’s signature, then made another signature in the right place in line with his name. The PEB Chairperson drew up a protocol on this instance.
PS 37/35 Transnistrian region, Floresti, Sanatauca. In one case, the address of the voter from the ID card was not the same as the address in the SRV. The PEB Chairperson asked the voter to go the PSA, right next to the PS, to have the information corrected first. The voter concerned in this instance managed to cast his vote afterwards.
PS 14/6 Drochia, Drochia. According to the electronic lists of voters in Elections SAIS, voters appeared assigned to a different PS. The voters were able to cast their vote on the basis of additional voter lists.
PS 2/22 Balti, Balti. At 9:14 a.m. a voter found that her son – who had passed away 19 years ago – appeared on the list of voters. When she raised this issue, the PEB Chairperson informed her about the procedure for removing him from the list of voters.
PS 9/41 Calarasi, Tuzara. At 9:50 a.m. a woman who came to exercise her constitutional right was not on the lists of voters. The PEB Chairperson informed her that she was to go to the Mayor’s Office to inquire into why she was not on the list. This voter was neither suggested another way to cast her vote, nor was she referred to another PS on the list of which she could be found. She was not able to vote.
PS 25/011 Orhei, Orhei. Having checked the Elections SAIS, some voters were told by the operators that they were not on the lists of that PS and that they were supposed to vote in the PS they were assigned to. However, the voters claimed that they have always been voting in that particular PS.
PS 18/026 Floresti, Cunicea. Having checked the Elections SAIS, some voters were told by the operators that they were not on the lists of that PS and that they were supposed to vote in the PS they were assigned to. However, the voters claimed that they have always been voting in that particular PS.
PS 21/049 Ialoveni, Vasieni. A person was not on the list and was informed that he/she was supposed to go to another PS.
PS 01/092 Chisinau, Buiucani. Two voters (mother and son) informed the PS staff that the address in the list of voters was incomplete/incorrect compared to the one in their ID cards. Ultimately, they did not vote.
PS 1/51 Chisinau, Botanica. One voter found in the lists of voters the name of his daughter who had passed away several years ago. He also had her certificate of death. The PEB Chairperson informed the voter that he/she could not make changes to the lists of voters and that the man had to raise this issue with the PSA.
PS 01/035 Chisinau, Botanica. One voter informed the PEB members that the name of a deceased person (neighbour) was on the lists of voters.
PS 32/21 Stefan Voda, Popeasca – PEB members found inconsistencies between the Elections SAIS – regarding 89 voters (supposed to vote in this PS) and the lists of voters that only had 87 voters.
PS 1/54 Chisinau, Botanica. One voter found the name of her deceased husband on the lists of voters. The PEB Chairperson asked for the certificate of death, but the voter left saying she was of advanced age and was not going to return that day.

Unjustified group voting (2 or more people were in the voting booth at the same time) – 9 cases

PS 6/17 Briceni, Corjeuti. At 8.35 a.m. a man older than 60, wearing glasses and potentially with vision impairment, came in accompanied by a person. They both entered the voting booth. Shortly after, another voter from the neighbouring booth joined them. There were thus 3 people in the voting booth at the same time. The PEB Chairperson addressed the situation immediately. Only the voter was left in the booth.
PS 16/38 Edinet, Hlinaia. At 9:50 a.m., two persons (relatives) entered the booth together having explained the PEB Chairperson that the voter was visually impaired.
PS 18/026, Floresti, Cunicea. During the time that one voter was exercising his right to vote, an PEB member approached the booth to change the ink pad and had allegedly told the voter who to vote for. The PEB Chairperson made no comments with regards to it.
PS 8/5 Cantemir, Baimaclia. Two persons entered one booth together at 10:50 a.m. None of them appeared to have vision issues. The PEB Chairperson addressed the situation by demanding that one of them leave the booth. One single voter remained in the booth as a result.
PS 16/27 Edinet, Chetrosica Noua. At 9:55 a.m., two aged voters (spouses) entered the booth together. The PEB Chairperson warned them about it, but the voters paid no attention. The wife voted for both of them.
PS 01/029 Chisinau, Botanica. Three voters cast their votes together. They consulted one another about who to vote for. The PEB members urged them several times to separate.
PS 1/105 Chisinau, Buiucani. The elderly wife was allowed to stand next to her elderly husband. However, when the husband was about to vote, she leaned in and told him to put the stamp on the ‘fourth option’. The PEB Chairperson and members called on them but the vote had already been cast.
PS 1/74 Chisinau, Buiucani. An elderly woman entered the booth together with another person, although she had come in the company of another elderly person. The PEB members tried to tackle it and warned them about the inappropriateness of that situation.
PS 1/ 154 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 9:42 a.m., one voter neared another voter who was in the booth and told him to vote for a candidate. The PEB took action on own motion and that person left the polling station.

PS 37/3, Transnistrian region, Anenii Noi. One voter took a picture of the ballot paper. The PEB members did not notice the incident.
PS 21/041 Ialoveni, Suruceni. One voter took a selfie in the voting booth. The PEB Chairperson asked him to exit the voting booth. The observer mentioned that several voters who cast their vote in this PS came out of the booth holding the ballot paper so that it showed who they voted for.
PS 01/253, Chisinau, Cricova. A voter made a picture of his ballot paper after having cast his vote. An observer informed the PEB Chairperson about it. The voter deleted the picture upon request to this end.
PS 01/054 Chisinau, Botanica. One voter took a picture of the ballot paper on which he had just expressed his vote and beckoned the observer of a candidate. The PEB members did not manage to do anything about it because the voter hurried to leave the PS.
PS 01/035 Chisinau, Ghidighici. One voter took a picture of his ballot paper. The PEB Chairperson acted on own motion and made the voter delete the picture, which the Chairperson checked it personally.
PS 01/041 Chisinau, Botanica. One voter was taking pictures of the polling station inside, of the observers and PEB members, voters, and also tried to take a picture of his ballot paper. The voter was apprehended by the police.
PS 01/029 Chisinau, Botanica. One voter took a picture of his ballot paper after they cast his vote. The PEB members did not manage to do anything about it because the voter hurried to leave the PS.
PS 11/024, Cimislia, Gura Galbenei. The observer of an election candidate was seen taking pictures of voting booths while the voters were casting their votes.
PS 20/002 Hincesti, Hincesti. A voter took a picture of the ballot paper. The PEB Chairperson demanded that the picture be deleted from the phone.
PS 27/3 Riscani, Riscani. After having expressed his choice on the ballot paper, a voter had demonstratively let it fall into the ballot box while having a picture taken by a person that he had come to the polling station with. Neither the PEB Chairperson, nor other PEB members responded to this situation.
PS 1/ 266 Chisinau, Vadul lui Voda. At 9:25 a.m., a voter approached an observer and asked him – while holding out his ballot paper – whether he voted correctly. It wasn’t clear whether the voter meant the whole voting procedure or the candidate he voted for. Both the observers and the PEB Secretary reprimanded him.
PS 32/3 Stefan Voda, Stefan Voda. The voting booth for people with special needs was placed next to the window which allows others to see who the voter voted for.
PS 25/009 Orhei, Orhei. A voter found a ballot paper in the voting booth. The PEB Chairperson decided to put it in the ballot box.

Unjustified termination/suspension of voting at the polling station – 6 cases.

PS 17/007 Falesti, Albinetul Vechi. The electricity was out from 9:40 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Voting was put on hold throughout the blackout, and the voters were prohibited from entering the PS.
PS 1/37 Chisinau, Botanica. Voting was stalled for 10-12 minutes at around 10 a.m. for a disinfection break. As a result, 12 people had to wait for the PS to resume its work.
PS 1/58 Chisinau, Botanica. Voting was stalled for about 15 minutes at around 10 a.m. for a disinfection break.
SV 1/353 Germany, Kassel. At around 8 a.m., the PS Chairperson was informed by the local authorities that the PS was to be shut down because of the long queue outside of it. The solution was to let in 3 people at a time.
PS 35/72 Ungheni, Valea Mare. At 12:05 p.m., an ECC representative showed up at the PS to unseal the backup ballot box that had two seals and to add another seal to a box that already had three seals. Voting was suspended through out this activity. A protocol was developed with regards to this matter subsequently. Voting had been paused for about 6 minutes.
PS 1/30 Chisinau, Botanica. Voting was stalled for about 10 minutes for a disinfection break.

Restricting the observers’ access or preventing the free observation process at the polling station – 1 case.

SV 16/3 Edinet, Edinet. The Promo-LEX observer had been kept by the PEB Chairperson outside the PS because he allegedly had a temperature of 37 °C. Having been taken the temperature several times, the observer was allowed inside the PS when the thermometer showed 36 °C.

Failure to observe COVID-19 protection and prevention measures – 25 cases.

PS 37/39 Transnistrian region, Rezina. The voters from the Transnistrian region formed queues at the PS. They did not observe the COVID-19 protection measures. The crowed spread out when the police turned up.
PS 28/4, Singerei, Singerei. Two people who had temperatures higher than 37 °C were allowed into the PS at 8:46 a.m. and 9:06 a.m. respectively. These voters were not suggested the alternative of voting at home. The PEB Chairperson did not get involved.
PS 32/15 Stefan Voda, Festelita. A voter who presented with fever showed up at 9:45 a.m. The PEB allowed him to vote provided that no other voter was allowed in during that time.
PS 32/15 Stefan Voda, Festelita. A voter who presented with fever showed up at 10:20 a.m. The PEB allowed him to vote provided that no other voter was allowed in during that time.
PS 18/001 Floresti, Floresti. Social distance was not observed and more voters were allowed in at the same time.
PS 18/039 Floresti, Izvoare. At 7:08 a.m., the PS operators allowed in a voter who did not wear a mask. The PEB Chairperson was not in the PS. None of the PEB members offered the voter a mask.
PS 01/194, Chisinau, Riscani. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS (5 voters, 4 voting booths). The PEB Chairperson explained that approach had been applied to avoid people queueing up outside the PS. Social distance was observed though.
PS 01/292, Chisinau, Stauceni. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS. One PEB member forewarned the person in charge of monitoring access about it. Shortly after, the situation resolved.
PS 01/203, Chisinau, Riscani. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS (6 voters, 3 voting booths). PEB members did nothing, the situation resolved itself.
PS 01/242, Chisinau, Riscani. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS (8-10 voters, 3 voting booths), including social distancing not being respected. PEB members warned the voters, however, they did not comply with the requests.
PS 10/31 Causeni, Grigorievca. Voters queued up, without complying with personal protection rules. At the same time, more voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS.
PS 18/15 Floresti, Ciripcauti. PEB members do not comply with COVID-19 protection rules – do not wear masks/wear them incorrectly, cases of not wearing a face shield. It was not possible to take temperatures correctly due to the malfunctioning thermometer (it was changed for another) and social distancing not being respected.
PS 1/405, Netherlands, The Hague. At arrival, no temperature was taken as a PS preparatory procedure.
PS 18/32 Floresti, Gura Camencii. Failure to ensure social distancing inside PS between PEB members, and the accredited observers.
PS 01/203, Chisinau, Riscani. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS (6 voters, 3 voting booths). PEB members did nothing, the situation resolved itself.
PS 01/242, Chisinau, Riscani. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS (8-10 voters, 3 voting booths), including social distancing not being respected. PEB members warned the voters, however, they did not comply with the requests.
PS 01/197, Chisinau, Riscani. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS (there are always 5 voters, 2 voting booths though).
PS 01/194, Chisinau, Riscani. More voters than the number of voting booths were allowed inside the PS (6 voters, 4 voting booths).
PS 32/33 Stefan Voda, Volintiri. During the election day, the PEB chairperson allowed inside the PS 9 elderly persons, without them wearing protective masks.
PS 33/7 Taraclia, Tvardita. At 10:37 a.m., about 6 voters without a protection mask were allowed inside the PS.
PS 1/213 Chisinau, Rascani. Multiple cases when the number of voters in the polling station was higher than the number of voting booths. At 9:30 a.m., there were 7 voters inside the polling station with 4 voting booths. The PEB Chairperson did not do anything about it.
PS 32/3 Stefan Voda, Stefan Voda. At 11:05 a.m. more than 6 voters were allowed inside the polling station with only 4 voting booths.
PS 1/183 Chisinau, Ciocana. Two voters refused their temperatures to be taken and at the request to keep their social distance, they refused too, and in the end they refused to vote.
PS 18/64 Floresti, Tirgul Vertiujeni. Inside the PS, which is equipped with 2 voting booths, there were 5 voters at the same time.
PS 12/27, Criuleni, Magdacesti. The voters in the queue at the entrance of the PS do not keep the social distance.

Ballot boxes were not sealed according to the legal procedures/tearing/damage or absence of seals on ballot boxes — 8 cases.

PS 30/42, Straseni, Sireti. The stationary ballot box was sealed with only 2 seals.
PS 33/9 Taraclia, Tvardita. One of the stationary ballot boxes was not sealed.
PS 33/28 Taraclia, Valea Perjei. One of two stationary ballot boxes was not sealed.
PS 6/9 Briceni, Berlinti. The stationary ballot box was sealed with 3 seals only. PEB Chairperson PEB argued that they do it all the time.
PS 29/30 Soroca, Dubna. One of the stationary ballot boxes has 2 seals only.
PS 1/443, Denmark, Copenhagen. As the ballot box offered to the PS is different from the ones used in the Republic of Moldova, only two seals could be applied.
PS 1/325, Russian Federation, Moscow. As the ballot box is not typical of those used by CEC in the Republic of Moldova, it was sealed using a sealing wax.
PS 32/19 Stefan Voda, Olanesti. The mobile ballot box is not sealed. PEB members justified this situation with the fact that there were not registered any people willing to vote from home.

Interrupted video recording of electoral procedures for polling station opening or procedures of ballot papers counting – 4 cases.

PS 1/383, Italian Republic, Bergamo. As it was not possible to connect the video camera, the preparation procedures were not recorded.
PS 01/092 Chisinau, Buiucani. The recording of the preparation for polling station opening started at 6.50 a.m., when all actions were already performed. The video camera remained on after the opening of the polling station. The PEB chairperson was informed, but no measures were taken.
PS 1/329, Russian Federation, Moscow. As it was not possible to connect the video camera, the PS preparation was recorded with a phone.
PS 27/7 Riscani, Costesti. Video camera keeps working during the day.

Other – 10 cases

Chisinau municipality – Individuals, introducing themselves as activists of a certain party, call voters and ask them if they have already voted. When asked where they got the phone number, the individual who is calling says the lists are provided by the party.
PS 1/377, Italy, Treviso. A ballot paper with a cast vote was found on the floor of the PS. The PEB chairperson collected the ballot paper in order to annul it. It was not possible to identify the voter who lost the ballot paper.
PSs 37/20 and 37/21, transnistrian region, Causeni, Hagimus In the surrounding area of the PS there were no indicators that could help voters to find its geographical location.
PS 37/6 transnistrian region, Anenii Noi, Gura Bicului. At 10:45 a.m., the residents of Gura Bicului village protested against organising a PS for voters from the transnistrian region in their community.
PS 10/4 Causeni, Grigorievca t. At 9.35 a.m. a voter placed the ballot paper in the ballot box without filling it in. The observers noted that and informed the PEB chairperson. The latter called immediately the voter who went out of the PS. The voter was given another ballot paper, in compliance with all the procedures.
PS 37/13 transnistrian region, Causeni. At 08:42 a.m., a voter came to the PS with his own and his wife’s identity cards and requested to vote on her behalf. After he was given a negative answer, he asked how much he would be paid if he voted. After telling him that there is no reward for voting, PEB members collected the voter’s identity data and asked him where he got such information from. The voter told that he saw on TV that he could get 20 Euro if he voted for a candidate. The individual refused ‘to vote for free’ and went to another PS from the same building.
Transnistrian region, Rezina. At 07:32 a.m., a group of citizens intended to block the access to the bridge in order to not allow citizens on the left bank of the Nistru river to vote.
Transnistrian region, Floresti. At 08:37 a.m., in the proximity of the control point in Sanatauca v., a group of supporters of a candidate blocked the access of a car with transnitrean registration numbers. After the police intervened, the respective group allowed the mentioned car to pass.
PS 01/082, Chisinau, Buiucani. A voter asked for another ballot paper given that he made a note with his pen instead of applying the stamp on his first ballot paper. PEB members refused to provide him another ballot paper. The voter submitted a complaint.
PS 17/046, Floresti, Obreja Veche. From 10:15 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. the electricity went out. The voting process was not interrupted.

If there are any discrepancies between the text in Romanian and its translation, the provisions formulated in Romanian shall prevail.

For more information, please contact: Inga Stegarescu, Press Officer of Promo-LEX Association GSM: 069 26 96 84; E-mail: [email protected]

Promo-LEX Election Observation Mission for the Presidential Election in the Republic of Moldova of 1 November 2020 | Polling Stations Opening

1 November 2020
Time: 9.00 am

Promo-LEX Observation Mission of the Presidential Election in the Republic of Moldova of 1 November 2020 informs that as of 9.00 am the Mission had received 63 incident reports from observers, and this press release contain information on the 35 incidents processed by the central team of Promo-LEX Mission as of this hour:

Polling stations opening:

Promo-LEX Observation Mission of the Presidential Election in the Republic of Moldova of 1 November 2020 finds,

Restricting the observers’ access or preventing the free observation process at the polling station – 1 case.

PS 36/7 Gagauzia, Comrat. Promo-LEX observer was denied access into the PS until 6:55 am. The observer arrived at the PS at 6:40 am, and the PEB Chairperson argued that observers had to be present at 6:30 am.

Presence of advertising materials, electoral billboards and posters in the vicinity of the polling station (within the area of 100 m from the PS) – 6 cases.

PS 7/6, Cahul, Valeni. Advertising materials favouring two candidates were found on the ads panels within the area of 100 m from the PS. PEB Chairperson told Promo-LEX STOs that he had not noticed them. They have been removed.
PS 01/266, Chisinau, Vadul lui Voda. The electoral poster of a candidate is displayed at a distance of about 20 meters from the PS. The PEB Chairperson was informed and he told that he would take measures to address it.
PS 13/001, Donduseni, Donduseni. A candidate’s electoral posters in A4 form are displayed within 100 meters from the PS.
PS 16/2, Edinet. The office of a candidate is located in front of the PS, at a distance of about 70 meters, and three banners with the candidate are displayed on the office gate. The PEB Chairperson was informed about this, but he did not react.
PS 36/4, ATUG, Comrat. The banner of a candidate is displayed at a distance of about 70 meters from the PS.
PS 18/54, Floresti, Radulenii Vechi. The banner of a candidate is displayed at a distance of about 50 meters from the PS.

Ballot boxes were not sealed according to the legal procedures/tearing/damage or absence of seals on ballot boxes — 5 cases.

PS 01/221, Chisinau, Riscani. At 06.55 am, stationary ballot boxes were sealed with only 2 seals each. PEB Chairperson stated that all of the received seals had been used, and that he did not have other available.
PS 35/72 Ungheni, Valea Mare. One stationary ballot box was sealed with 3 seals, one stationary ballot box was sealed with 2 seals. PEB Chairperson explained that this was the number of seals that he had received.
PS 28/52, Singerei, Pepeni. The ballot box was sealed with 2 seals only. When asked by the observer, the PEB Chairperson replied that he has three ballot boxes and did not have enough seals for each.
PS 1/329, Russian Federation, Moscow area. As the ballot box had only two places to apply the seals, only two seals were used.
PS 1/416, Romania, Sibiu. As the ballot box offered to the PS is different from the ones used in the Republic of Moldova, only one seal could be applied, on the door on the top of the box.

Interrupted video recording of electoral procedures for polling station opening or procedures of ballot papers counting – 6 cases.

PS 27/37 Riscani, Racaria. Camera turned on at 7.03 am.
PS 27/25 Riscani, Hiliuti. Camera turned on at 6.59 am for a couple of seconds only, to say that the polling station was opened.
PS 25/045 Orhei, Malaiesti. The video camera was not turned on to shoot the PS opening.
PS 25/040 Orhei, Furceni. The shooting got interrupted while video monitoring the PS opening procedures, due to some technical errors. The electricity block it was connected to was out of order. The PEB Chairperson looked for another block and is trying to remedy the situation.
PS 1/415, Romania, Suceava. The electoral office did not have a cable to connect the video camera, that is why the PS preparation was shot with a mobile phone.
PS 18/9, Floresti, Alexeevca. The video camera was turned on after PEB members sealed the ballot box.

Restricting the free access to polling station for voters with symptoms of acute respiratory disease (body temperature above 37 Celsius degrees, coughing, breathing difficulties, etc.) – 1 case.

PS 2/45, Balti, Balti town. A voter aged about 58-60 years came to the PS at around 8:35 am with body temperature of 37.4. PEB member did not allow her to enter the polling station. Shortly after, the PEB Chairperson informed her that she had the right to enter and vote. But the voter refused and left.

Organised voter transportation (by buses, passenger vans or other vehicles that wouldn’t normally be around) – 1 cases.

PS 7/6, Cahul, Valeni. At 8.40 am, a white passenger van with registration number BZJ 278 stopped at a distance of about 50 m from the PS and about 15 persons got off. The passenger van had neither a note saying it was transporting passengers, not any sign of public transportation, nor yellow registration plates.

Deficient operation of SAIS “Elections” (suspended functionalities; situations when SAIS “Elections” states that the voted had voted, but the latter claims he had not) – 4 cases.

PS 01/078, Chisinau, Buiucani. SAIS “Elections” had some technical deficiencies and it was out of order from 07.08 am to 07.39 am.
PS 01/223, Chisinau, Riscani. One of the two computers of the polling station could not be connected to SAIS “Elections”. At 07.40 am, PEB Chairperson called for Moldtelecom specialists, but the problem has not been solved yet.
PS 01/125, Chisinau, Center. SAIS “Elections” was out of order from 7.00 am to 7.30 am. PEB Chairperson called for IT experts and the problem was solved.
PS 1/339, Russian Federation, Surgut Hanti-Mansiisk. In spite of the presence of SAIS “Elections” operators and functional technical devices (computers), SAIS “Elections” had been out of order until 7:52 am (Russian Federation time).

Deficiencies in lists of voters (gaps between addresses; deceased voters; signatures instead of other people) – 1 case.

PS 01/092, Chisinau, Buiucani. A voter who has recently changed the residence was not on the main list of voters. The voter was not allowed to vote on additional list, though he presented his ID card which confirmed his domicile within the area of the respective polling station.

Taking pictures of the ballot papers, other violations of the secret of vote (submitting the ID card with the vote on it, inappropriate location of voting booths so that voter’s option can be seen etc.) – 1 case.

PS 01/223, Chisinau, Riscani. One voter took a picture of the ballot paper. This was noticed by PEB Chairperson and members. When asked for explanations, the voter said he had to answer a phone call at that very moment. PEB Chairperson said he would document that case.

Infringement by the electoral officials of COVID-19 protection and prevention measures – 4 case.

PS 18/026, Floresti, Cunicea. The list with temperature measurements was prepared after PS opening, at 8:40. PEB Chairperson filled in the listed, without taking the temperature of PEB members.
PS 18/23, Floresti, Cuhureștii de Sus. Failure to ensure the social distance between PEB members, and the PEB Chairperson does not wear a face mask. In addition, the observer’s body temperature was not measured when he arrived to the PS. The PS was opened at 06.55 am.
PS 18/9, Floresti, Alexeevca. PEB members did not have face shields and did not wear correctly face masks.
PS 18/54, Floresti, Radulenii Vechi. The thermometer was not operating correctly. When asked by observers, PEB members chanced the thermometer.

Other – 5 cases

PS 4/14, Anenii Noi, Todirești. The electricity went out. Half of the village is out of electricity. PEB Chairperson has reported the situation, it has not been solved yet.
PS 32/21 Stefan Voda, Popeasca. The PS opening protocol states 3 voting booths, but in reality there are only 2 voting booths.
PS 18/002, Floresti, Floresti. Before PS opening, 2699 voters were declared to be on the main lists of voters. After PS opening, PEB Chairperson stated she had been phoned by CEC representatives, asking to remove 19 voters who had been issued voting right certificates.
PS 37/3, Transnistrian region, Anenii Noi. At 08:07 am, a voter made a note with his pen on the ballot paper and that is why he asked for another ballot paper. But PEB members refused to give him another ballot paper, hence the voter applied the “Voted” seal on the ballot paper with the notes made by pen. After this case, the PEB Chairperson explained to PEB members that they were obliged to give another ballot paper, if requested by voter.
PS 01/092, Chisinau, Buiucani. The polling station opening protocol was drafter with a delay, at 7.11 am. Three voters had already voted by than.

The press release is developed as part of the Observation Mission for the Elections of the President of the Republic of Moldova on 1 November 2020 is conducted by Promo-LEX Association with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) via the ‘Democracy, Transparency and Accountability’ Program, the Good Governance Department of Soros Foundation-Moldova under ‘Monitoring the Presidential Elections of 1 November 2020’ Project, and the Council of Europe under ‘Support for civic observation of 2020 Presidential Election in polling stations abroad’. ‘Hate speech’ component is supported by Justice and Human Rights Department of Soros Foundation-Moldova under ‘Consolidation of a platform for the development of activism and education in the area of human rights in Moldova – stage IV’ Project.

If there are any discrepancies between the text in Romanian and its translation, the provisions formulated in Romanian shall prevail.

For more details, please contact:

Inga Stegarescu, Communication Officer of Promo-LEX Observation Mission for the Presidential Election in the Republic of Moldova of 1 November 2020: GSM 069269684,

e-mail: [email protected]

Conclusions of Promo-LEX Observation Mission at the end of the campaign: Election contenders do not declare the actual spending for the campaign, and the number of violations is increasing at a worrisome pace

Promo-LEX Observation Mission (OM) launched the fifth monitoring report of the presidential election in the Republic of Moldova. Like in the previous reports, EOM found a number of problems, such as: use of administrative resources, intimidation and presence of hate speech and incitement to discrimination in the contenders’ messages, electoral gifts, as well as involving religious cults in the election campaign of a candidate. Promo-LEX observers also found deceased persons and wrong addresses in lists of voters.

Multiple violations on the last mile of the campaign

Promo-LEX EOM found literally twice as many electoral activities compared to the first two weeks of campaign – 992. PSRM – a party that did not nominate any candidates, was found again to engage in the election campaign of Igor Dodon IC (52% of all of the candidate’s activities).

Observers identified at least 24 cases that can be regarded as use of administrative resources, of which: 21 – Igor Dodon (IC) și 3 – Tudor Deliu (PLDM). At least two cases that can be regarded as voter corruption were reported and both of them involved candidate Igor Dodon (IC).

In this context, at least 52 cases reported where candidates were promoted by local elected officials: district presidents/deputy presidents or mayors/deputy mayors. The electioneering work was done while on leave, planned particularly during the election campaign period, without being registered with CEC as persons of trust.

At least six cases involving representatives of religious denominations in the election campaign of the candidate Igor Dodon (IC) were also reported.

According to observers’ reports, at least nine cases of candidate intimidation or vandalizing their advertising materials were registered, 2 cases involving – Igor Dodon (IC), 2 cases – Maia Sandu (PAS), 2 cases – Renato Usatii (PN), and one case – Violeta Ivanov (PPS), Octavian Ticu (PUN) and Andrei Nastase (PPPDA) each.

Under-reported expenses and donations above the threshold for funds that may be transferred on the ‘Electoral Fund’ account

According to the reports submitted to CEC, the revenues declared by election contenders for 10-23 October amount to MDL 6,027,149; of which MDL 996,772 are revenues in the form of free goods and services.

The mission estimated at least MDL 3,800,981 not reported by the following election contenders: Violeta Ivanov (PPS) – MDL 1,574,706; Igor Dodon (IC) – MDL 932,334; Andrei Nastase (PPPDA) – MDL 551,901; Maia Sandu (PAS) – MDL 288,176; Renato Usatii (PN) – MDL 291,226; Tudor Deliu (PLDM) – MDL 61,117; Octavian Ticu (PUN) – MDL 74,813; Dorin Chirtoaca (BE UNIREA) – MDL 26,708.

Electoral bodies’ failure to comply with the required measures of protection

According to Promo–LEX observers, not all DECs conform to the restrictions imposed on activity amidst the pandemic: 8 (22%) councils do not have a register for monitoring the temperature of electoral officials; at least 18 DECs (50%) do not take the visitors’ temperature; while in other 5 DECs (14%) the information on health protection rules amid pandemic is missing. Besides, as reported by observers, in at least 7 cases DECs found shortages in the equipment for protection and prevention of the spread of COVID-19 infection, received from CEC.

Unfortunately, 776 (82%) of the electoral offices of polling stations (PEBs) were found not to comply with the protection requirements in the context of pandemic.

The flaws of the Electoral and Administrative Codes limit the contenders’ right to effective remedy

According to observers, during the reference period one single complaint was submitted to CEC, which was settled by the deadline stated in the law. As for other six notifications, it seems that CEC has neither settled them, nor published any response.

With regards to litigation settlement, Promo-LEX EOM finds that the election contenders’ right to effective remedy is affected due to the misalignment of the Electoral Code with the Administrative Code.

Limiting the observers’ access to the voter lists

Promo-LEX found non-compliance with the deadlines for submitting the voter lists to PEBs in at least 406 PEBs (42%) of the 947 visited. At the same time, note that about 20% (184) of the polling stations visited by observers had a limited access to lists with full data on voters.

The most frequent errors found in lists are the following: presence of deceased persons (145 cases) and wrongful assignment of voters to another PS from the same or even from a different settlement (45 cases).

Less observers accredited compared with the Parliamentary election of 2019

During the observation period, CEC accredited 1,153 (53%) observers and experts. A total of 2193 observers were accredited for the presidential election, specifically 1883 national observers, 299 international observers and 11 international electoral experts. Of the total number of national observers, Promo-LEX EOM accredited 1200 (64%). Compared to the Parliamentary election of 24 February 2019, the number of national observers dropped by 45%, and of international observers – by 60%.

Hate speech and incitement to discrimination

We find a surge in hate speech by candidates and politicians, opinion leaders, journalists and citizens. At least 76 new cases were identified in the reference period alone – by 13 more than in the previous monitoring period.

Of these, candidate Renato Usatii (PN) used hate speech in 46 cases; Andrei Nastase (PPDA) — in three cases, Dorin Chirtoaca (BE UNIREA), Violeta Ivanov (PPS) and Igor Dodon (IC) — in one case each.

Other 15 cases of hate speech and/or incitement to discrimination involved 5 of the 8 candidates registered in the electoral race. Thus, Igor Dodon was targeted in 5 cases, Maia Sandu – in 4 cases, Violeta Ivanov – in 3 cases, Dorin Chirtoaca – in two cases, and Renato Usatii – in one case.

Seven new cases of hate speech against voters in general, and voters from the left bank of the Nistru river, in particular, were registered.

The Promo-LEX Association emphasises that the use of hate speech and incitement to discrimination in the public space and in the mass-media by candidates and their supporters amid election campaign harms not only the dignity of counter-candidates, by also that of people from particular social groups, including when prejudice and stereotypes are used or when people are incited to discrimination and violence.

The Observation Mission for the Elections of the President of the Republic of Moldova on 1 November 2020 is conducted by Promo-LEX Association with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) via the ‘Democracy, Transparency and Accountability’ Program, the Good Governance Department of Soros Foundation-Moldova under ‘Monitoring the Presidential Elections of 1 November 2020’ Project, and the Council of Europe under ‘Support for civic observation of 2020 Presidential Election in polling stations abroad’. ‘Hate speech’ component is supported by Justice and Human Rights Department of Soros Foundation-Moldova under ‘Consolidation of a platform for the development of activism and education in the area of human rights in Moldova – stage IV’ Project.

The translation and dissemination of this report was financially supported by the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE), which is financially supported by the European Union and funds by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, including its ifa funding program zivik.

Find the full report here.

If there are any discrepancies between the text in Romanian and its translation, the provisions formulated in Romanian shall prevail.

For more information, please contact:
Inga Stegarescu, Press Officer of Promo-LEX Association
GSM: 069 26 96 84;
E-mail: [email protected].

Police Development Strategy in Moldova Needs Backlog Management

In 2020, the implementation of 2016-2020 Police Development Strategy has been marked by a substantial backlog (10 sub-actions (18.9%) of the 53 that had to be completed by the end of 2019 remained unfulfilled). Several activities outlined in the policy documents could not be carried out in the first semester of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, given that the activity of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and, implicitly, of Police was focused on monitoring citizens’ compliance with the measures established by the National Commission for Emergency Situations in the Republic of Moldova.

At the same time, the fact that no public consultations on the new strategic document for the Police Development in the next period were initiated in the first semester of 2020 raises concerns.

In Report no. 4 on Civic Monitoring of Police Reform, Promo-LEX analyzed the activities outlined in the Budget Support Policy Matrix, as well as 10 sub-actions of the Action Plan for the implementation of the Police Development Strategy qualified as unfulfilled in the previous reports.

Thus, according to the analysis of Promo-LEX, the degree of implementation of the activities planned under the Police Development Strategy has not changed since the end of 2019. None of the sub-actions, rated by Promo-LEX as unfulfilled, has changed its qualifier.

However, it should be noted that one indicator set in the Policy Matrix for 2019 was reached in the first semester of 2020. Considering that the overall share of women in the Police as of 01.07.2020 is 18,14%, we find that the indicator related to the increase of women’s share in the Police, set in the Objective for 2019, was reached in the first semester of 2020.

The other 10 sub-actions in the implementation of the Police Development Strategy that have been qualified as outstanding as of the end of 2019 target four of the five strategic objectives:

– Consolidating the accountability, efficiency, transparency and professionalism of the Police;

– Equitable, efficient and effective application of human rights legislation in the activity of the Police;

– Consolidating the capabilities of the Police to combat organized crime, trafficking in human beings, cybercrime, violence, including gender-motivated violence, drug and arms smuggling, money laundering and counterfeiting;

– Creating a modern police service in line with the best EU and international standards and practices, able to respond proactively and equally to the needs of citizens and society as a whole.

In particular, the remaining sub-actions are as follows:

Elaboration of a guide on the assessment of collective performances, development of a system to assess individual performances and career advancement (outstanding since 01.07.2017);
Improving the efficiency of the Coordinating Council of the GIP in the decision-making
process (outstanding since 01.01.2017);
Creation of the Council for coordination and monitoring of external assistance within the GIP in order to consolidate the capacity to absorb external financial assistance (outstanding since 01.01.2017);
Deconcentration of activities for maintaining and ensuring public order at the level of territorial subdivisions of Police (outstanding since 01.01.2018);
Improvement of the legal framework for the organization of public gatherings (outstanding since 01.07.2017);
Development and approval of a curriculum to train the staff selected for participation in international missions (outstanding since 01.01.2018);
Establishing the role, place and duties of the criminal prosecution subdivisions within the Police in the context of judicial sector reform (outstanding since 01.01.2017);
Adapting the legal framework for special investigation activity to the Community Standards (outstanding since 01.01.2019);
Developing and approving drafts amending both legislative and regulatory frameworks with a view to regulating the competences of the Police in preventing and combating the phenomenon of money laundering (outstanding since 01.01.2017);
Participating in the implementation of twinning (institutional twinning) projects on the implementation of the intelligence-led policing concept (outstanding since 01.01.2020).

Report no. 4 on Civic Monitoring of Police Reform can be found here.

The report was drafted by Promo-LEX under the project “Civic Monitoring of Police Reform in the Republic of Moldova”. The project is funded by the European Union, co-financed and implemented by the Promo-LEX Association.

The project “Civic Monitoring of Police Reform in the Republic of Moldova” highlights the role of civic oversight of non-governmental organizations during the implementation of reforms, as well as the right of citizens to participate in the decision-making process. The general objective of the project is to consolidate the accountability, efficiency and transparency of the Police Reform in the Republic of Moldova.

For more information, please contact:
Inga Stegarescu, communication officer of the Promo-LEX Association; GSM: 069269684,
e-mail: [email protected]

Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova
Mihail Kogalniceanu St.
MD-2001, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EUDelegationMoldova

APPEAL The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections requests the Central Electoral Commission to ensure the operation of the video recording system throughout the Election Day

October 16, 2020

APPEAL
The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections
requests the Central Electoral Commission to ensure the operation of the
video recording system throughout the Election Day

The signatory organizations, members of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CALC), request the Central Electoral Commission to:

urgently ammend point 11 of the Regulation on the operation of the Video Recording System in the polling stations;
ensure the operation of the video recording cameras on the Election Day, starting with the preparations for the opening of the polling station and ending with the tabulation of voting results by PEB members.

Presidential elections in the Republic of Moldova are to be held on November 1, 2020. These elections will take place under specific conditions, caused by the national and/ or regional, and international (elections held abroad) sanitary and epidemiological restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the national level, we found that as of October 13, 2020, just two weeks before the start of presidential elections in the country, the National Extraordinary Commission for Public Health established “the red code” of emergency in public health in most administrative territorial units (except for Hincesti, Leovo and Soroca Districts)[1]. Internationally, according to the data published by the World Health Organization[2], the spread of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has entered a new phase, with the number of infected increasing daily, especially in Europe and Americas[3].

Therefore, we ascertain that the Presidential Elections of November 1, 2020 will be held under limited monitoring both by national and international missions, as well as by observers’ representing presidential candidates. In this regard, we note that the number of national and international observers who will be monitoring the conduct of the elections is significantly lower compared to previous national elections.

Thus, the presidential elections of 2016 were monitored by 3,096 national observers and, respectively, 562 international observers accredited by the CEC. The parliamentary elections of 2019 were attended by 3,389 national and, respectively, 776 international observers. At the same time, for the presidential elections of November 1, 2020, (as of October 15, 2020) the CEC accredited only 1,070 national observers representing public associations (32% of the total number of observers involved in 2019 elections) and only 139 international observers (17 % of the total number of observers involved in 2019 elections).

In addition, it should be reminded that the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has decided to modify the format of Election Observation Missions (EOM) in the Republic of Moldova, limiting the observation missions to long-term ones only[4]. This means that the EOM will not have short-term observers, who could represent the largest number of international observers and who would directly monitor the events of Election Day.

In conclusion, we consider that given the specific circumstances of this election and lack of observers in most of the polling stations, video monitoring of election operations throughout the day (from the preparations for the opening of the polling station until the tabulation of voting results by PEB members) can increase the transparency of electoral procedures on Election Day and help prevent or prove possible violations. Accordingly, video monitoring of electoral procedures can help increase public confidence in the final results of the elections confirmed by electoral authorities.

In light of the above mentioned, we ask the Central Electoral Commission to urgently operate the necessary amendments to the Regulation on the operation of the video recording systems in polling stations approved by the CEC Decision no. 2265 of February 8, 2019, providing for conducting video recording of electoral operations not only until the opening of the polling station and during the vote counting procedures, but throughout the Election Day (at least,[5] as it had been originally stated when the decision to purchase video equipment was made and accordingly, implemented the parliamentary elections of 2019).

The signatories of this Appeal believe that, video monitoring of electoral operations throughout Election Day is substantiated by the following considerations:

Increasing voters’ confidence in the correctness of electoral operations carried out;
Increasing the responsibility of members of electoral bodies while performing electoral operations;
Reducing potential violations, electoral fraud within polling stations, as well as ensuring compliance with epidemiological rules imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic;
Availability of recorded video evidence in case of clashes, violations or filing complaints.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[1] National Extraordinary Commission for Public Health, Decision no. 34 of 13.10.2020

[2]WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard

[3] Press release of the WHO on COVID-19 of October 12, 2020

[4] The OSCE / ODIHR election observation mission informed the Central Electoral Commission about the change in the format of the observation activity carried out in the Republic of Moldova.

[5] An additional alternative would be to broadcast live the electoral process in each polling station on the web platforms managed by the CEC.

The Promo-LEX mission established that there is a surge in cases involving hate speech and religious cults in campaigning and in cases of misuse of administrative resources, while electoral bodies do not observe fully the sanitary and epidemiological requirements

Promo-LEX reports increasingly more cases that can qualify as use of administrative resources, and a 2.6 times increase in cases involving hate speech and incitement to discrimination. During the monitoring period (30 September – 13 October), there has been an upsurge in electoral events, in cases where the restrictions imposed by the Extraordinary Territorial Commissions of Public Health were not observed, as well as first instances where religious denominations were involved in the election campaign of a candidate.

Legal uncertainties that give rise to unequal opportunities for election contenders

Promo-LEX Observation Mission draws attention to the uncertainties around the lawfulness of a political party supporting an independent candidate, including from the point of view of poor reporting of campaign financing, and around the lawfulness of involving in election campaigns political parties that do not participate in elections officially. It came to our attention that members and supporters of PSRM – a party that did not nominate a candidate – are taking part in the election campaign of Igor Dodon IC. We would also like to emphasize that the mechanism in place for suspending from office the President of the Republic of Moldova in relation to their participation in elections is not regulated sufficiently.

Like in the 2016 Presidential Elections, Promo-LEX OM is highlighting that there are some legal rules that affect contenders’ opportunities to start the election campaigns at the same time.

The more active the election contenders, the more numerous the incidents

In the beginning of the election campaign, Promo-LEX OM established that the number of identified electoral events (595) increased almost five times compared to the previous reporting period. Of these, 39% were carried out by Igor Dodon (IC), 22 % – by Renato Usatii, 19% – by Maia Sandu (PAS), according to observers.

We would also like to draw attention to at least 6 cases that can qualify as violation of the public health rules established by the Extraordinary Territorial Commissions of Public Health with regards to meetings, concerning Igor Dodon (IC) – 3 cases; Maia Sandu (PAS) – 2 cases; and 1 case – Tudor Deliu (PLDM).

During the monitored period, Promo-LEX OM reported at least 18 cases that can be qualified as use of administrative resources: 14 – Igor Dodon (IC), Tudor Deliu (PLDM), Renato Usatii (PN), Andrei Nastase (PPPDA) and Violeta Ivanov (PPS) – once case each.

The number of cases that can qualify as using the image of foreign officials and images that represent government institutions/symbols is increasing, at least 7 such cases having been reported. Of these, Maia Sandu (PAS), Andrei Nastase (PPPDA) and Dorin Chirtoaca (BE Unirea) were concerned in two cases each, and in one case – Tudor Deliu (PLDM).

At least two cases involving representatives of religious denominations in the election campaign of the candidate Igor Dodon (IC) were also reported.

Expenses of at least MDL 809,477 were not reported by candidates

According to the data published on the official website of CEC – out of the 8 registered candidates, one (Octavian Ticu) submitted neither a report, nor a notification on not having incurred any expenses. The main source of income reported by election contenders for the first week of the election campaign was donations from individuals. The observation mission confirmed there was a transfer from the current account of a party to the ‘Electoral Fund’ account that was above the ceiling of MDL 95,436 set for legal entities in the CEC Circular Letter of 15 September 2020. However CEC did not respond to this yet.

We also found that 566 individuals donated MDL 7.68 million in cash, followed by donations in goods and services worth MDL 1,302,239. The observation mission emphasises that reporting in-kind donations is a positive practice for a transparent election campaign. However, reporting such donations outside the ‘Electoral Fund’ account puts at risk the accuracy of reporting and might serve as a way to circumvent the rules on the basis of which the financial flows in the ‘Electoral Fund’ account are verified.

The observers have repeatedly given emphasis to the fact that none of the election contenders neither reported expenses for electioneerers nor reported their services as in-kind donations. The estimates are that 6 election contenders failed to report in full their campaign expenses in the total amount of at least MDL 809,477: Igor Dodon (IC) – MDL 474,856; Andrei Nastase (PPPDA) – MDL 111,531; Violeta Ivanov (PPS) – MDL 105,236; Maia Sandu (PAS) – MDL 67,812; Renato Usatii – MDL 29,598; Tudor Deliu (PLDM) – MDL 20,444.

An election campaign riddled with more and more hate speech and discrimination

The surge in hate speech by candidates and politicians, opinion leaders, journalists and citizens is regretful. At least 63 new cases were identified in the reference period alone – by 39 more than in the previous monitoring period.

Of these, in 39 cases the hate speaker was the candidate Renato Usatii (PN); in two other cases – Andrei Nastase (PPPDA) and Octavian Ticu (PUN). Other 15 cases of hate speech and/or incitement to discrimination involved 5 of the 8 candidates registered in the electoral race. Igor Dodon was concerned in 4 cases, Maia Sandu – in 6 cases, Renato Usatii – in 2 cases, Octavian Ticu and Dorin Chirtoaca – in one case each.

The Promo-LEX Association puts emphasis on the fact that this type of discourse affects not only candidates, but also people who are part of different social groups (women, LGBT, people with disabilities, etc.). We also noticed that in none of the cases of hate speech or incitement to discrimination on television did the TV show hosts react.

The activity of the electoral bodies amidst the pandemic

According to Promo–LEX observers, not all DECs conform to the restrictions imposed on activity amidst the pandemic: 12 DECs (34%) do not have a register for monitoring the temperature of electoral officials; at least 18 DECs (50%) do not take the visitors’ temperature; while in other 4 DECs (11%) the information on health protection rules amid pandemic is missing.

Regarding the activity of the electoral offices of polling stations (PEB), we established that in at least 48 PEB the requirement of being composed of an odd number of members was not complied with. Also, the open ballot procedure was not observed in three of the total of 116 PEB monitored in the reference period.

From a gender perspective, women make up the greatest share in PEB composition – 83%. There are no men among the members of 468 PEB.

PEB formed without the participation of local authorities

Although the law stipulates that three of the PEB members must be nominated by the local councils, Promo-LEX found that in at least 355 PEB (18%) there was no-one nominated by the LPAs. Note that none of the PEB established by DEC No 1 Chisinau has any members appointed by the LPA. According to Promo-LEX observers, in the absence of a municipal council’s decision on this matter, the absolute majority of PEB members were appointed from the Register of Electoral Officials (REF), managed by CEC. In this context, the question arises as to whether those persons were really in the REF, or whether the procedure for appointing on the basis of this register is a formality only. Note that the non-transparent compilation of the REF by CEC was flagged by Promo-LEX back in the 2016 presidential election.

About 60 activities dedicated to information, voter education and apolitical mobilisation were carried out by Promo-LEX Association and its partners

On the occasion of the presidential election of 1 November 2020, Promo-LEX Association and other three organisations that received sub-grants from the Association, carried out – during the reporting period – at least 59 activities of voter information, education and apolitical mobilisation. Because of the sanitary and epidemiological restrictions imposed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, all activities were carried out online and were advertised on social media networks.

Find the full report here.

If there are any discrepancies between the text in Romanian and its translation, the provisions formulated in Romanian shall prevail.

For more information, please contact:
Inga Stegarescu, Press Officer of Promo-LEX Association
GSM: 069 26 96 84;
E-mail: [email protected].

PUBLIC CALL The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CALC) Urges the Candidates for the Position of President of the Republic of Moldova to Participate in Election Debates

To the Registered Candidates
for the Position of President of the Republic of Moldova
for the Election of 1 November 2020

PUBLIC CALL

The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CALC)
Urges the Candidates for the Position of President of the Republic of Moldova
to Participate in Election Debates

The signatory organisations, members of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CALC),

Call upon candidates for the position of President of the Republic of Moldova to participate in the election debates organised by media service providers in the context of election campaign for presidential election of 1 November 2020.

The presidential elections in the Republic of Moldova are set for 1 November 2020. Free access to information, information and electoral education activities, as well as election campaign activities are essential for the voters to exercise a conscious vote.

The presidential election of 1 November 2020 will be organised in the context of a specific situation related to the sanitary and epidemiological restrictions imposed at national and/or regional level due to COVID-19 pandemic. Given that there are less than 20 days left before the election and the authorities report approximately 1000 COVID-19 confirmed cases daily, a `Red Code’ state of emergency in public health was established in 26 administrative-territorial units[1]. It is thus clear that the election candidates are very limited in conducting the campaign activities, and voters – in their right to receive information about the campaign from the first source.

To this end, the opening of several media service providers to organise public debates is welcome.

First, the election debates are a direct, important and credible source of information for voters about the election campaign and election contenders.

Second, the electoral debates are a free and accessible possibility for all candidates to inform voters on the most sensitive issues of the society that are described in their election platforms. In addition, voters are informed at the same time as the value of the candidates’ platform is compared with those of the rival candidates, and, as a consequence, determining the voters to vote.

And last but not least, in the COVID-19 pandemic, the election debates organised by media service providers are one of the few campaign activities with a low contamination risk.

Furthermore, debates are a good practice of election campaign internationally, and an efficient tool for promoting the freedom of expression and political pluralism during elections.

Beyond the aspects detailed above, we remind that according to the electoral law of the Republic of Moldova[2], media service providers shall organise election debates, and the local/regional ones have the right to organise election debates during the presidential election campaign. In this context, the media service providers are obliged by law to bear considerable costs in order to reach the goal of informing the voters. On the other hand, there were already first instances of election contenders refusing to participate in election debates. Moreover, even if the law allows informing voters through trusted persons, the candidates do not use this alternative instrument and often the candidates’ viewpoint is lacking or it is not reflected in debates.

In view of the above, we believe that it is imperative for all candidates or their trusted persons to participate in election debates, in order to ensure an electoral competition based on equal opportunities, as well as in the best interest of voters to form a conscious opinion about the contenders!

Thus, reiterating the above-mentioned,

We ask the candidates to participate personally in the election debates organised by media service providers, or to delegate their trusted persons.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections is a group of 34 non-governmental organisations from the Republic of Moldova, which are monitoring the election processes, are conducting electoral education and apolitical mobilisation of voters.

The Coalition aims at developing democracy in the Republic of Moldova by promoting and conducting free and fair elections according to the standards of ODIHR (OSCE), Council of Europe and specialised affiliated institutions.

[1] National Extraordinary Public Health Commission, Decision No 33 of 28.09.2020 (https://gov.md/sites/default/files/hotarirea_cnesp_nr.33_28.09.2020.pdf

[2] Election Code of the Republic of Moldova (Article 70 (3)).

Incidents in the Security Zone from a Human Rights Perspective

The situation in the Security Zone (SZ) poses a permanent threat to fundamental human rights and freedoms. For these reasons, Promo-LEX Association commissioned a study on the impact of Security Zone incidents on human rights over the past 20 years. The study performs a quantitative and qualitative analysis of incidents, determining the trends in their evolution in the SZ, assessing the correlation over time between the developments in the negotiation process and how these trends have led to certain human rights violations. Also, in order to strengthen the prevention and response capacity of the authorities of the Republic of Moldova, the study analyses the incidence over time of planned provocative actions and violations in the SZ.

The Nistru river valley Security Zone, set up following the Moldovan and Russian Agreement of 21 July 1992, is neither demilitarized nor a safe zone for the security and freedom of people from these territories. These are some of the findings of the Study on ‘Incidents in the Security Zone during 2001-2020, from a human rights perspective’, made public today by Promo-LEX Association in a press conference.

Moreover, there is a constant deterioration of the situation: attempts to close the Romanian language teaching schools, seizure of thousands of hectares of agricultural land, kidnapping, unlawful detention at illegal checkpoints, unauthorized shootings or military exercises in the SZ are just some of the serious problems. The situation worsened in 2020, in particular, with the introduction of unjustified measures to limit (practically block) the traffic, which remains the most common violation in the Security Zone, say Promo-LEX experts.

The Joint Control Commission, being the mechanism for ensuring stability in the Security Zone, cannot cope with the challenges due to the flawed principle of decision-making by consensus of the three parties involved – the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation and the Tiraspol administration. In this regard, the author of the Study developed a series of recommendations to the constitutional authorities, but also to other stakeholders involved in the Transnistrian issue resolution:

Clarify the legal status of the Moldovan-Russian treaty of 21 July 1992;
Replace the current peacekeeping operation with one with an internationally recognized mandate;
Reform the mechanisms of the peacekeeping operation, primarily by revising the regulations of the Joint Control Commission and the instructions of military observers;
Comply with the provisions of the Moldovan-Russian Agreement on Guaranteeing Free Movement of Goods, Services and Commodities in the Security Zone and remove the illegal checkpoints;
Initiate, by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, consultations with the European Union and Member States on the resumption of nominal sanctions against Tiraspol decision-makers who are responsible for restricting the right to free movement, but also for abusive arrests and detentions, persecution of political opponents and civic activists as well as for other flagrant human rights violations in the region, including in the Security Zone.

Promo-LEX Report No 3: Setting up polling stations abroad (outside the diplomatic mission premises) – a process that was contested, conducted without any public consultations, but for the first time was based on a clear mechanism for establishing the PS number and location

Promo-LEX launched today the Third Report of the Observation Mission for the Elections of the President of the Republic of Moldova on 1 November 2020. The key aspects covered in the report include establishment of polling stations, including the ones abroad and for voters from the transnistrian region, promotional activities conducted by potential election contenders, as well as financial reporting of their expenses.

Polling stations established abroad on the basis of a clear methodology and by informing stakeholders, but without any public consultations

For the presidential elections of 1 November 2020, a number of 2143 polling stations were established, of which 42 PSs were established for the voters from the transnistrian region and 139 PSs were established for the voters from abroad.

CEC established abroad by 39 more PSs than during the presidential elections of 2016. Compared to the previous elections, the document on PS establishment informed stakeholders about the stages of establishment, the calculation formula used, the risks determined by the epidemiological evolution, etc. However, we draw attention to the lack of institutionalized public consultations, which raised suspicions about how the number and the location of polling stations abroad was decided. Also, if the epidemiological situation worsens, the actual number of polling stations established abroad could be lower than the number of polling stations determined by CEC, but it is important that the central electoral body communicates at an early stage and transparently about such possible situations.

Issues with the establishment of polling stations for voters from the left bank of the Nistru river

Given the isolated cases of refusals to provide support to CEC in establishing polling stations for voters from the left bank of Nistru river, the Observation Mission reports a poor and contradictory communication between certain level-one local public authorities (LPA I) and CEC on the establishment of these polling stations.

Even if according to the law, polling stations are established for voters from the left bank of the Nistru river without having to compulsorily consult the LPA, it is recommended that stakeholders reach a compromise and have an amicable communication in order to ensure the right to vote for voters from that region.

Election contenders registration

Of the total number of 13 registered IGs, as of 29 September 2020, five election contenders were registered, one application was rejected and other three files were under review. Of the four candidates that have not submitted their signature sheets by 29 September 2020, three are independent candidates.

In the third monitoring report, Promo-LEX also underlines issues related to the conditions for verifying signature sheets. In this regard, we reiterate that the provisions of CEC Regulations are more restrictive that of the Electoral Code and, hence, put election contenders in an unfavorable position and affect the freedom of expression of voters.

Appeals and notifications

Promo-LEX also found that the electoral authority did not register two notifications. We believe that any notification, application, complaint — regardless of the name of the individual who submitted them — shall be registered as an electoral complaint if it reports certain violations of the electoral process.

Note that four out of five complaints were declared inadmissible in the first instance court. In this regard, we reiterate that the right to effective remedy shall be ensured to election contenders, voters and other electoral stakeholders.

Promo-LEX reports increasingly more cases that can be qualified as misuse of administrative resources

According to Promo-LEX Observers, during this period, the initiative groups (IGs) carried out at least 130 activities to collect signatures and electoral-like political promotion activities with regards to already registered candidates. Most activities were carried out by: Igor Dodon IG (IC) – 52 activities, Maia Sandu IG (PAS) – 27 activities, and the registered candidate Andrei Nastase (PPPDA) – 24 activities. At least 25% of all the actions that are considered to be conducted by Igor Dodon IG, registered as independent candidate, were conducted by PSRM members and supporters.

Also, at least 23 cases of using administrative resources were reported: 15 (65%) – Igor Dodon (IC), 7 (30%) – Violeta Ivanov (PPS) and 1 (4%) – Maia Sandu (PAS).

Zero expenses reported for the activity of signature collectors

The revenues and expenses reported to CEC between 2 and 25 September 2020 by the seven registered IGs, which submitted weekly reports amount to MDL 1 827 428. No initiative group exceed the threshold set by CEC in the amount of MDL 994 250.

According to Promo-LEX observations, no IG reported expenses for signature collectors. Nine IGs did not report fully or any expenses incurred during the reference period: Violeta Ivanov (PPS) – MDL 269 100, Andrei Nastase (PPPDA) – MDL 172 196, Renato Usatii (PN) – MDL 122 198, Igor Dodon (IC) – 30 794, Octavian Ticu (PUN) – MDL 57 697, Maia Sandu (PAS) – MDL 13 757, Andrian Candu (PRO MOLDOVA) – MDL 15 506, Tudor Deliu (PLDM) – MDL 8 810, Dorin Chirtoaca (BE UNIREA) – MDL 5 432. The total unreported expenses are estimated to at least MDL 748 173.

Hate and discriminatory speech continues to affect the election campaign

According to the information reported by observers, at least five cases when Renato Usatii (PN) used hate speech and incitement to discrimination in the public space were identified.

Also, at least 19 cases of election contenders affected by hate speeches or incitement to discrimination were also reported. Of these, 14 cases involved candidates and/or election contenders, and five cases referred to members of political parties and/or their supporters. Thus, of the candidates and/or election contenders, Igor Dodon (IC) was targeted in 8 such cases, Maia Sandu (PAS) – in 2 cases, and Renato Usatii (PN), Andrei Nastase (PPPDA), Andrian Candu (Pro Moldova) and Dorin Chirtoaca (BE UNIREA) – in one case each.

Hate and discriminatory messages built on the following criteria: political affiliation, health condition, disability, professional activity, sex/gender, religion and religious beliefs, and opinion.

The Observation Mission for the Elections of the President of the Republic of Moldova on 1 November 2020 is conducted by Promo-LEX Association with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) via the ‘Democracy, Transparency and Accountability’ Program, with the support of the Good Governance Department of Soros Foundation Moldova under ‘Monitoring the Presidential Elections of 1 November 2020’ Project, and with the support of the Council of Europe under ‘Support for civic observation of 2020 Presidential Election in polling stations abroad’. ‘Hate speech’ component is supported by Justice and Human Rights Department of Soros Foundation Moldova under ‘Consolidation of a platform for the development of activism and education in the area of human rights in Moldova – stage IV’ Project.

Find the full report here.

If there are any discrepancies between the text in Romanian and its translation, the provisions formulated in Romanian shall prevail.

For more information, please contact:
Inga Stegarescu, Press Officer of Promo-LEX Association
GSM: 069 26 96 84;
E-mail: [email protected].