GENERAL LOCAL ELECTIONS-2023 in Moldova: Synthesis of 19 October day

Chisinau, 19 October /MOLDPRES/ - The electoral agenda of the 19 October day included a flashmob held by Andrei Donica in his capacity of candidate for the office of Chisinau general mayor. At the event, Donica started the electoral campaign with the slogan, Let us Release the City Hall from the Mafia!   

„Ceban is the man of Serghei Iaralov. He was extracted from the Communists for the Democrats, but was parachuted at the Socialists. Ceban won the position of mayor with the money from the same bag received from Plahotniuc. Smart City was a lure worked out by the FSB (Federal Security Service of Russia) technologies with dirty money. The civil servants who work for him are in the role of useful idiots, as in reality, they work for the mafia,’’ Donica said.    

Also today, the candidate for the office of Chisinau general mayor on behalf of the New Political Option party, Ruslan Popa, at a news conference, suggested that the taxi drivers move exclusively on the right lane meant for the public transport. The formation sent a petition to the authorities to consider this opportunity. According to Popa, if the taxi drivers move exclusively on the lane meant for the public transport, the traffic will be eased and the jams will be reduced.   

The leader of the Ruslan Codreanu Electoral Bloc today gave a news conference to make public a ‘’particularly delicate situation during the electoral campaign.’’ ‘’Our candidate, Eugeniu Cebotari, and his team from Vadul lui Voda is subjected to tactics of intimidation on behalf of law-enforcement bodies to the order of electoral contenders – a reality which cannot be ignored. In a campaign led with one’s own resources and with a small team, the fight becomes in so much difficult, when obstacles appear at somebody’s will,’’ Ruslan Codreanu said.       

The president of the National Alternative Movement Party (MAN), Ion Ceban, at a today’s news conference, referred to the transparency of the city hall, as well as to the grounds ‘’illegally sold, which return to the municipal property.’’ ‘’The Chisinau city hall in the last years has created more portals, where all information on the work of the municipal public authority is found openly and transparently,’’ Ion Ceban said.    

„The electoral campaign for the general local polls is marked by a large number of candidates, by the abusive use of administrative resources and by the involvement of civil servants in electoral activities,’’ reads the Report No 3 of the Mission of Observation of the 5 November ballot, presented by the Promo-LEX Association today. The institution ascertains the significant increase in the number of cases which can be described as abuse of administrative resources, ever more active involvement of civil servants in campaign activities and non-full reporting of the campaign expenses by electoral contenders.

The period of observation of the events included in the report is, in general, 5-17 October 2023. The observation of the financing of the electoral campaign was carried out during 6-13 October. At the same time, the monitoring of the discourse of hatred and instigation to discrimination comprises the period 29 September – 12 October 2023.   

At a today’s meeting, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) approved more decisions concerning the accreditation of observers, public interest messages and the models of ballot papers.

Thus, CEC turned down a request on the registration of the electoral symbol of the WE Political Party, registered as electoral contender for the 5 November 2023 general local polls, for printing in the ballot paper. CEC found out that the electoral symbol of this formation was alike the symbol of another political party registered in the electoral race.   

The Commission approved the model of the ballot paper for the election of the councilors in the Chisinau Municipal Council and the Comrat municipal council, Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, at the general local elections due on 5 November 2023.   

CEC accredited 116 people as national observers on behalf of the Promo-LEX public association and three persons as international observers on behalf of the Pro Democracy Club Targu-Neamt and  European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) for the monitoring of the general local polls due on 5 November 2023.
Also, a public interest message was approved, at a request by the Promo-LEX public association.

All information on the general local elections due on 5 November can be found on the official webpage of the Central Electoral Commission, www.cec.md, the section CEC Meetings, sub-section CEC Decisions.