Moldovan foreign affairs ministry to further do everything needed, legal for proper organization of voting abroad

Chisinau, 3 November /MOLDPRES/ - Foreign Affairs and European Integration Minister Oleg Tulea, at a today’s videoconference, discussed with the heads of Moldova’s diplomatic missions abroad the organizational process of the voting abroad, the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry’s (MAEIE) press service has reported.    

In this respect, the Moldovan diplomacy head noted that MAEIE had systematically and quickly informed the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), as well as the public opinion about the situation concerning the voting abroad, including on the day of elections, about the agglomerations of citizens nearby the polling stations. On the last days, the diplomatic missions and consular offices have assessed additional measures which can be adopted based on the legal provisions for an as good as possible and safe organization of the voting abroad. The participants in the videoconference presented the good practices registered in the polling stations set up in Ireland.      

At the same time, the participants in the event informed that the agglomerations of citizens nearby polling stations had triggered multiple notifications of public order control bodies and on behalf of the local authorities from more states, which shows non-compliance with the requirements imposed in the epidemiological context. In this context, MAEIE reiterates its call to the Diaspora members to strictly observe the sanitary norms demanded by the authorities of foreign countries, who allowed Moldovan citizens to fulfill their electoral right, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic they are facing.   

At those 139 polling stations, the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry made available, in capacity of heads of the Electoral Bureaus of Polling stations (BESV) abroad  - a team of 112 employees of diplomatic services’ institutions, staff from both the Moldovan missions, embassies and consulates from abroad and from the MAEIE central office, additionally to those 27 heads summoned from the Diaspora of the register of CEC – the only authority which coordinates and leads the electoral process. In the context, we highly appreciate also the contribution of BESV members, as well as of the volunteers, who despite the health risks, worked at the polling stations.     

At the videoconference, Minister Oleg Tulea asked for the presentation of recommendations meant to remove the deficiencies noticed during the last Sunday voting, specification of eventual risks which can be anticipated and formulation of solutions to manage the concerned risks and the following priorities were pointed out:   

- preventing agglomerations of people;

- good management of queues;

- interaction with the local authorities and bodies for supervising the public order on the day of the ballot;

- optimizing the process of voting through adding staff, equipment and electoral supplies;  

- impact of toughening the restrictions and sanitary measures of preventing the COVID-19 infection or the others which can have impact on the functionality of the polling stations;

- other suggestions, in order to diminish the risks of contamination of the BESV staff and voters.  

After this information is collected, CEC is to be informed for instructing actions as to the improvement of the conditions of voting at the polling stations which registered a larger flow of voters.

Photo: MAEIE