PACE delegation makes pre-electoral visit to the Republic of Moldova
Chisinau, 6 November 2014. “European integration or closer relations with the Customs’ Union - this is the key issue of the election campaign”, declared the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in a pre-electoral mission to the Republic of Moldova on 5-6 November, to assess the election campaign and political climate prior to the parliamentary elections on 30 November 2014.
The delegation notes that, in general, the election campaign is calm and the political parties and the candidates have the possibility to conduct it freely. A number of interlocutors expressed the voters’ concern with regard to the following issues: unemployment, pensions, health care system and education. Some interlocutors described cases of misuse of administrative resources and vote buying. The delegation was also informed of limited cases of religious representatives becoming involved in the election campaign in support of certain political parties. In this regard, the delegation recalls the principles of respect of the separation between church and state in a democracy.
The Electoral Code of the Republic of Moldova provides a good basis for the conduct of democratic elections. The delegation underlines that the key challenge for the conduct of genuinely democratic elections remains the exercise of political will by parties to uphold the letter and the spirit of the law, and to implement it fully and effectively. The recent amendments to the election legislation increased the electoral threshold, contrary to the Venice Commission recommendations. The PACE delegation recalls that discussions about electoral reform were to be expected. The electoral reform should be conducted on the basis of a large consensus among the main political parties, and well in advance of the election.
Various interlocutors, including the authorities’ representatives, informed the delegation about the lack of transparency of the sources of financing of political parties. The perception of corruption in the Republic of Moldova is widespread in the public opinion. The delegation was also informed about the use of “dirty money” during election campaign coming from abroad. The Assembly delegation expresses its deep concern with regard to the significant campaign expenditure as well as the role played by businessmen and oligarchs in the political life of the Republic of Moldova especially in the electoral process. This is of particular concern in a country facing serious social and economic problems and high level of poverty. The delegation also questions the interference of businessmen at local level in the indirect financing of the election campaign.
The rules governing the funding of political parties and election campaigns remain inadequate. In this regard, the Assembly delegation recalls that the Venice Commission has recommended the adoption of the legislation on the financing of political parties and election campaigns. It regrets that the Parliament did not adopt the law on financing of political parties and elections campaigns.
Some of the pre-electoral delegation interlocutors pointed out the improvement of the media coverage by public broadcasters and pluralism of opinions in different media. Nevertheless, several issues of serious concern remain: the opacity of the sources of financing of some media outlets, whose holding companies are allegedly registered off-shore, a lack of transparency concerning their ownership, the control of media by a number of businessmen and oligarchs, and their close ties to political parties. The delegation also noticed that a majority of media remain divided along political and linguistic lines. It also noted the influence on the election campaign of media established abroad and the negative impact of news programmes on the informed choice of the electorate.
The delegation noted that the Central electoral commission, in general, enjoys the confidence of the main political stakeholders. The implementation of the electronic electoral register should limit the practice of supplementary voters’ lists. The delegation is concerned about unbalanced distribution of the 95 polling stations abroad. The delegation calls upon the Moldovan voters to take an active part in these crucially important elections for the future of their country.
The Assembly delegation invites the authorities to take quick and efficient measures to ensure the conditions are in place for all Moldovans to express their will freely during the campaign and on election day.
In Chisinau, the delegation met the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament, leaders of political parties participating in the elections, the Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission, the Chairman of the Audiovisual Coordinating Council, representatives of the international community, NGOs and the media.
A full 32-member delegation from the Assembly will return to the country to observe the elections.
Members of the delegation: Jean-Claude Mignon (France, EPP/CD), head of the delegation |
Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 April 2015 13:59 |