Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Council of Europe described local elections in Moldova as a well-organized electoral process
11:29 | 07.11.2023 Category: Political
Chisinau, Nov. 7 /MOLDPRES/- Local elections in the Republic of Moldova: a well-organized electoral process, despite difficult circumstances. The conclusion belongs to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, which carried out an election observation mission on November 5.
The Congress mission was led by Gunn Marit Helgesen (Norway) and involved 19 Congress observers, including 13 members of Congress, one expert and five members of the Secretariat from 13 countries.
On election day, nine Congress teams were deployed in different cities across the country. “We saw a calm, orderly and transparent election day from opening to counting, with some minor procedural issues. We welcome the revision of the Electoral Code, which has fixed some previously identified legal loopholes and addressed our recommendations in particular on campaign finance, independent candidates and gender quotas," Head of Mission Gunn Marit Helgesen said.
"While we welcome the authorities' proactive efforts to address electoral corruption, a new approach is needed if the state of emergency is extended again, paying particular attention to the timing and enforcement of restrictions," deputy head of delegation Vladimir Prebilic said.
The draft report and recommendation the Congress will be submitted for adoption at the 46th session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe in March 2024.
