Moldovan foreign affaires ministry takes note of electoral body's decision on organization of 139 polling stations abroad

Chisinau, 7 June /MOLDPRES/ - The Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry (MAEIE) has taken note of the Central Electoral Commission’s (CEC) decision on the organization of 139 polling stations abroad for the 11 July 2021 snap parliamentary elections and under the powers established, MAEIE will instruct the measures necessary for ensuring the constitutional right to vote in safety conditions, with the observance of the sanitary and public order norms in the residence countries, the MAEIE public diplomacy, strategic communication and media interaction service has reported.  

Reiterating the position of principle of the institutions of the diplomatic service on the abstaining from commenting on political statements, for the good informing of the public opinion and as a result of multiple requests received by MAEIE and diplomatic missions and consular offices from media institutions, Diaspora representatives and the organizations which ensure the monitoring of the voting organization’s abroad, the press bureau comes up with the following specifications:

The initial proposal from 25 May 2021 on the organization of those 191 polling stations abroad is the result of the consultation by Moldova’s embassies of the communities of citizens from outside the country, as well as the MAEIE’s discussions with civil society’s representatives. Also, in the spirit of the Article 31, paragraph (3) of the Electoral Code, the foreign affairs ministry on 4 June favourably considered an approach submitted on the same day by the Central Electoral Commission on the creation of 162 polling stations.   

In the case of the preliminary opinion, the ministry informed the electoral authority that all diplomatic missions notified in due time the authorities of the accreditation states about the organization of snap parliamentary elections on 11 July 2021 and the intention to open polling stations on their territory.   

From the logistic viewpoint, the capacities of the diplomatic service for the nomination of the heads of the bureaus of the polling stations abroad is 186 civil servants accredited abroad (including specialized diplomats, representatives of the Economics and Infrastructure Ministry, Defence Ministry and of the Customs Service), as well as about 60 civil servants of the ministry’s central apparatus.  

It is worth noting that, at the last elections, 113 civil servants of the diplomatic service and, for the first time ever, 26 electoral civil servants from the Diaspora participated as heads of the polling stations’ bureaus.

Thus, the ministry took note the list proposed by the Central Electoral Commission on the creation of 162 polling stations and confirmed that it has the needed logistic capacities for the organization of snap parliamentary elections, including according to the initial proposals submitted on 25 May 2021, i.e. 191 polling stations. The decision adopted by the Central Electoral Commission at the 5 June extraordinary meeting on the setting up of 139 polling stations abroad was not preliminarily approved by the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry.   

In the end, we invite representatives of the Diaspora from abroad, who showed interest in providing assistance to the embassies and the authorities where the polling stations will be created, to become volunteers and help manage the flows of voters. People interested are to send an email of intent to the diplomatic mission from the residence country. The list of Moldova’s embassies abroad and the contact coordinates can be consulted at the section ‘’Moldova’s diplomatic missions and consular offices’’ on the website of MAEIE.   

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