Moldovan electoral body starts information campaign about mixed voting system

Chisinau, 5 April /MOLDPRES/ - A mobile campaign on informing voters titled, Democracy Matters, today started all over Moldova, to inform citizens about the mixed electoral system. The action is organized by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) and the Centre for Continuous Electoral Training (CICDE).  

Within the campaign, CEC and CICDE representatives will organize meetings with local public administration authorities, young people, teachers, opinion leaders from areas, etc., in order to discuss the organization and holding of the elections through the mixed voting system, due to be enforced at the next parliamentary polls.  

The first meetings to this effect were held at the praetor’s office of Chisinau’s Centru district. Local-level civil servants, as well as decision-makers participated in a meeting with CEC head Alina Russu and CICDE director Pavel Canbacenco, CEC members and electoral officials.   

“We put special emphasis on the direct communication with the citizens. It is important that the citizen, before entering the voting booth, knows his/her rights and obligations, understands the electoral processes, be aware of the responsibility of the election, and certainly, faces no problems in the wish to exercise the right to vote,” Alina Russu said.  

Such meetings with voters will be organized in at least 16 national electoral districts. Between 500 and 1,000 participants are invited to meetings and decision-makers plan to inform over 8,000 citizens about the mixed electoral system. The mini-buss of the Democracy Matters campaign will go throughout Moldova during April and May.    

The information campaign regards such subjects as the new amendments to the Electoral Code, new electoral procedures, importance of participating in the voting, role of the electoral officials, local leaders and the Diaspora, etc. A string of informative materials are distributed at meetings: Electoral Guide, a booklet titled, CICDE – Democracy is Learned, posters about the mixed voting system. 

The action is carried out within a project, Strengthening Democracy in Moldova through Inclusive and Transparent Elections. The project is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme Moldova (UNDP Moldova), with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development, Embassy of the United Kingdom in Chisinau, through the Fund for Good Governance and Embassy of the Netherlands in Moldova through the Matra Programme.   

(Reporter A. Ciobanu, editor M. Jantovan)