ACUM ACTIVISTS DEMANDING TO PERMIT VOTING WITH EXPIRED PASSPORTS

On Thursday, voting bloc ACUM supporters protested before the Central Election Commission building, demanding to permit citizens to vote with expired documents [foreign-travel passports and domestic-use identity cards – Buletin de Identitate].

About 40 protesters were chanting “The ban to vote is but election swindling”, “Shame!” and the like slogans.

ACUM Co-Chairperson Maya Sandu said that a growing number of alarming signals is coming from citizens who apprehend that the forthcoming election may fail to be fair or free.

“Some election contesters are overtly committing violations, but the CEC pretends to believe that nothing wrong is happening. But the greatest violation the ruling regime is overtly preparing is to prohibit voting by using expired passports. This means that approximately 15% voters will be not able to take part in the polls. This means that the nation’s breadwinners – the citizens who had to leave the native country due to the irresponsibility of the authorities who prefer to support the national economy mainly with gastarbeiters’ remittances – will not be given the possibility to vote! This is a direct breach of the Constitution”, stated the opposition politician.

In her words, the CEC must urgently issue a decision permitting the holders of expired documents to take part in the voting, and “Such a step by the Commission would be absolutely legitimate because the Supreme Court approved of it yet in 2014”.

Maya Sandu was going to meet CEC Chairperson Alina Rusu, but she was not available on her work place. Sandu said: “That’s how things go in Moldova: some people are permitted to be late, while other ones are not. I mean our compatriots working in foreign countries, who were late with extending their passports. OK, we will hopefully see Rusu tomorrow”.