Moldovan reporters participate in event dedicated to press, elections

Chisinau, 26 August /MOLDPRES/ – The reporters from more mass media institutions of Moldova participated, on 23 – 25 August, in the Weekend Training: Media & Elections, dedicated to elections, activity of Central Election Commission (CEC), role of journalists in electoral process etc.

The hosts of the event offered the participants professional suggestions and good practices in informing about electoral process, in the light of elections organised this autumn. "The reporters ensure the connection between public institutions and society. The quality of info that people receive helps them play an active role in the life of society and development of country. The political process must be inclusive and participatory, this being one of the basic principles of the Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030, mentioned deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Moldova, Andrea Cuzyova.

For three days, the journalists were able to find out details about the electoral processes, financing of election campaigns, drawing up the electoral lists, as well as put all questions they had at the offline discussion session with the members of CEC and Centre for Continuous Training in electoral domain. Interviewed by agency reporter to refer to the measures he intends to take, in order to detach CEC from any suspicion of fraud, the head of institution, Dorin Cimil, recently appointed to this position, listed several stages. "We have several initiatives, but in all of them we shall be guided by principles of democracy, European standards and institutional transparency. However, the communication we have in this training is one of the actions”, specified Dorin Cimil.

Also, the journalists entered the backdrop of the State Automated Information System Elections, browsed the CEC website, debated the topic of financing electoral campaigns and political parties. The present press had the opportunity to find out from the experience of Latvia in the field of media relations with the electoral institutions, talking with ex – president of Latvian Electoral Commission, Arnis Cimdars. The expert told the agency that in relation to Latvia, Moldova has achieved some successes in the electoral process that are not yet in Moldova. "Moldova has succeeded in implementing electoral procedures that give confidence that things are going well, with steps that make me appreciate that Latvia and Moldova "go parallel" in this context," said Arnis Cimdars.

In other sessions, the journalists had debates about professional ethics during elections, techniques of manipulating press used by politicians during election period, STOP FALS campaign, carried out including during elections, etc. "All this knowledge will be useful by us during upcoming 02 months, when we shall inform audience about general local elections (ALG)", appreciated several participants of training.

Weekend Training: Media & Elections was organised by CEC, Centre for Continuous Training in Electoral Field, within project: Strengthening democracy in Moldova through inclusive and transparent elections, implemented by UNDP Moldova and funded by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), British Embassy in Chisinau through the Good Governance Fund and Dutch Embassy through Programme Matra.

The recent elections in Moldova were held on 24 February, when it was elected the Parliament of Moldova, and the next ones – ALG – will be held on 20 October, when it will be elected 898 mayors and 11,580 local councilors. On similar day, it will be held 04 parliamentary elections in 04 constituencies.