PROPOSALS FOR ENSURING VOTING RIGHTS FOR DIASPORA

The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections has submitted to the Parliament a notification concerning a Draft Law on improvements to voting procedures, namely the diaspora citizens’ exercise of the right to vote and to be elected.

Today, the Coalition has issued an opinion on Draft Law Nr. 217 of 26.06.2018 (special rights for diaspora voters) – an initiative that aims to regulate certain practices that have been previously applied during elections in Moldova, and to transpose the 2017 Venice Commission recommendations, in order to guarantee an inclusive electoral process for diaspora citizens.

Hence, the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections recommends the Parliament to:

1. Accept a broader range of identification documents that can be used by diaspora citizens to vote;
2. Regulate the existing practice, previously applied by the Central Electoral Commission, of allowing voters to vote with expired passports/IDs;
3. Support the proposal to allow citizens who reside abroad to support the activity of political parties/ political contestants, including the electoral campaigns of diaspora candidates, up to a maximum of 5 average monthly salaries.

The legislative proposals formulated in this notice have a technical character and can be implemented without incurring additional costs – whereas these improvements would guarantee an inclusive and fair election process across all voter categories.

The Coalition expresses its concern regarding the Government’s intention to approve a critical addendum to Draft Law No. 217 on 24 September 2018, invoking various financial reasons. We believe that the Government’s position should derive from its mission of securing active and comprehensive inclusion of voters, especially for under-represented categories, such as those who will be voting from abroad.

The Coalition strongly believes that at least the above-mentioned technical proposals, which do not require funding, should be accepted by the Government and adopted by the Parliament.

Click the attachment for full text of the Notice in Romanian.