General local elections: Over 70,000 citizens voted by 8:30 a.m.

Chisinau, Nov. 5 /MOLDPRES/- Polling stations were opened at 7:00 a.m. for the general local elections. Over 70 thousand citizens, which is about 2.66%, voted by 8:30 a.m.

During a press briefing, Central Electoral Commission (CEC) head Angelica Caraman presented information on the start of the electoral process.

"In two localities, Chioselia Rusă and Cotovskoe, the Gagauz Autonomy, the elections for the position of mayor will not take place, and in the village of Cealîc from Taraclia, elections for the local council will not be held. In these localities there was only one candidate for the position of mayor, in which case the cancellation of his registration was ordered. In another 45 localities, the voters will find in the ballot papers only one candidate for the position of mayor, and in 21 localities only one electoral competitor for the position of councilor", said Caraman.

The CEC leadership noted that in a polling station in the city of Cantemir, the electoral process was suspended due to the need to reprint the ballots. "After the problem is fixed, we will announce the resumption of voting in this section", Caraman said.

Also, the CEC head said that the first preliminary results of the general local elections will be presented at 10:00 p.m.

Citizens with the right to vote are expected today at the 1,958 polling stations to elect mayors and councilors. The voting procedure started at 07.00 and will end at 21.00.

898 mayors and 11,058 local councilors will be elected. Over 3,900 people who want to serve as mayor and more than 56 thousand citizens who want to be councilors apply for these positions.