ODIHR observers unveil conclusions on presidential elections in Moldova

Chisinau, 2 November /MOLDPRES/ - Observers of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today presented the conclusions on the presidential elections in Moldova. They noted that the polls had been held fairly and the COVID-19 pandemic had not hit the political pluralism.   

At a news conference, the head of the ODIHR Mission, Corien Jonker, said that the observers had been in Moldova during six weeks. Jonker also said that she relied also on the work of those 22 observers, who had been here for a long term. ‘’Although the elections took place within the COVID-19 challenges, in a pluralist campaign, the voters were able to make the choice with full knowledge of the case out of a wide range of candidates and political viewpoints,’’ Jonker said.      

She said that the last Sunday polls had been organized professionally, although some gaps were recorded, which undermined the ballot’s efficiency. There were observations as to the organized carriage of voters. The electoral process was organized well for the Transnistrian region; yet, in certain districts, observers found out how other people were keeping record of voters and vehicles from nearby.  

Preliminary data put out by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) shows that 1,364,597 voters participated in the 1 November 2020 elections. None of the eight candidates registered in the race managed to get 51 per cent of the votes and thus, the runoff will be held in two weeks. So, the candidate of the Action and Solidarity Party, Maia Sandu, and independent candidate Igor Dodon will compete for the position of head of state on 15 November.