CONGRESS OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE: MOLDOVAN ELECTORAL FRAMEWORK NEEDS STABILITY

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has welcomed the well-administered local elections in the Republic of Moldova held on 5 November 2023, according to the recommendation of the Congress, adopted at a session in Strasbourg following the report of the head of the observer mission led by Vladimir Prebilic (Slovenia, SOC/G/PD).

The document praises the work of the "well-trained election administration" and notes that election day "was overall calm and transparent, despite some minor procedural problems."

The rapporteur noted that the Congressional delegation, which was deployed to several districts throughout the country and visited around 115 polling stations, assessed positively the revision of the Electoral Code in 2022 and was highly satisfied to see that many of the Congress long-standing recommendations – including on gender quotas, requirement for independent candidates and party and campaign finance – had been addressed in the new Code.

The Congress also welcomed the increased oversight of the Central Election Commission over campaign and party finance and the substantial efforts of the election administration to proactively investigate corruption allegations. At the same time, noting numerous and credible reports of corruption of voters and candidates received by the delegation, the Congress called on the authorities to build the administration’s capacities and increased voters’ awareness of prohibited activities.

The Congress also called for more efforts on election dispute resolution, noting that disputes and contradictory decisions related to the right to stand in elections created legal uncertainty and negatively impacted the electoral process.

“We believe that the stability of the electoral framework is paramount to ensure trust in the impartiality of the process. We regretted that some decisions were not taken early enough and sometimes without necessary consultations, debate or clear justification”, pointed out the rapporteur.