Moldovan foreign affairs ministry says ballot papers for 139 polling stations set up abroad reach destination

Chisinau, 30 October /MOLDPRES/ - All suitcases with electoral supplies have safely reached all 139 polling stations due to be opened abroad. Foreign Affairs and European Integration Minister Oleg Tulea today made statements to this effect at a joint news conference with the head of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), Dorin Cimil.  

The Moldovan diplomacy head noted that, in the last month, the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry (MAEIE) had accredited 21 international media institutions and 56 journalists from eight countries, interested in the holding of the electoral process in Moldova. Tulea also said that, at present, the organizational process was completed and the locations for those 139 polling stations had been identified and prepared.   

„On this period, our diplomatic missions identified the locations of those 139 polling stations. First of all, rooms were found out, which meet the needed conditions for carrying out the ballot, which is to ensure safety both for the staff of the electoral bureaus and for the citizens who are to exercise their right to vote on 1 November. Watching the enforcement of the current provisions of the Electoral Code, MAEIE delegated heads to most electoral bureaus out of the staff of the diplomatic missions and consular offices; at the same time, we delegated four MAEIE diplomats, of whom one person was sent to France and three – to Romania,’’ Tulea also said.       

The foreign affairs minister noted that, also for the first time ever, 27 heads of the bureaus were nominated from Moldova’s citizens, who have temporary or permanent residence abroad: 10 to Italy, 8 in Russia, 3 to the United Kingdom, 2 to the USA, 2 to Canada and one to Ireland and Germany each. According to practices of the earlier ballots, the Diaspora gets massively involved as members of the electoral bureaus of polling stations. ‘’So far, all suitcases with electoral supplies, ballot papers have safely reached all polling stations which we open. We constantly watch and monitor the developments dealing with the epidemiological situation in each state, including the risks which can appear soon and we inform the Central Electoral Commission about these risks, in order to take a decision on the carrying out of the polls for 1 November 2020,’’ Oleg Tulea added.

He specified that MAEIE had prepared an informative material with the situation in each country, due to be placed on the webpages and the Facebook pages of the diplomatic missions.

CEC head Dorin Cimil said that the citizens from abroad would not be able to resort to the mobile ballot box. He urged them to consul all official information, in order to be able to participate in the voting.  

Presidential elections will be held in Moldova on next Sunday. Eight candidates were registered in the race for the president’s position.