APPEAL TO REASSESS LAW THAT CANCELS ELECTION DAY SILENCE

The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections has petitioned the President through an Appeal, asking him to submit for reassessment the Law adopted by the Parliament on November 23, 2018, which lifts the ban on electoral agitation during Election Day, invoking the reasoning that previous regulations were contradictory to good electoral practices. The law proposes amendments to the Electoral and Contravention Codes, to allow for electoral agitation on Election Day and the day before, including in proximity to voting stations.

This amendment to the electoral Code was done following the report of the Legal, Appointments, and Immunities Commission, in response to Parliament Decision nr. 126 of July 11, 2018, which undertook a comprehensive assessment and analysis of the electoral legislation invoked in the invalidation of the 2018 new elections in Chisinau. Hence, the Parliament was pending a statement and consequent solution concerning online electoral agitation.

The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CALC) has previously provided the Legal, Appointments, and Immunities Commission with an opinion statement concerning international examples of regulation of electoral agitation and advertising; the arguments provided, however, haven’t been taken into consideration, or have been taken out of context and given a biased interpretation. CALC welcomes the practice of adopting democratic models for electoral agitation control, to the extent that agitation would stay prohibited in physical spaces, yet unrestricted on social networks and the internet. That is, during Election Day silence, the only type of online electoral agitation to be banned should be promoted content, which increases the flow electoral information in favor of certain political candidates or against their opponents. It is this precise type of advertising and agitation that should be sanctioned.

CALC members consider that maintaining Election Day silence in physical spaces would protect voters from the abusive influence of candidates, of administrative entities and members of electoral offices, would obstruct potential pressure on voters on Election Day, and help avoid public order violations around voting stations, as well as guarantee equal chances for all electoral candidates, regardless of the extent of their ability to self-promote, which could otherwise be used to influence the course of the elections.

Furthermore, in its Appeal CALC refers to the Venice Commission Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, which recommends to abstain from amending fundamental aspects of electoral legislation during an election year; this recommendation is even more relevant on the eve of a campaigning period.