<\/p>\n
To the Central Electoral Commission <\/strong><\/p>\n The\u00a0signatory organizations, members\u00a0of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CALC),<\/em><\/strong> request the Central Electoral\u00a0Commission to:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0urgently modify point 11 of the Regulation on the operation of the Video\u00a0Recording System in the polling stations;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n –\u00a0 ensure the operation of the video recording cameras\u00a0on the Election Day, starting with the preparations for the opening of the polling station and ending with the tabulation of voting results by PEB members.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Presidential elections in the Republic of Moldova\u00a0are to be held on November 1, 2020<\/strong>.\u00a0These elections will take place under specific conditions, caused by the national and\/\u00a0or regional, and international (elections held abroad) sanitary and epidemiological restrictions imposed due to\u00a0the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n Nationally, we found that as of October 13, 2020, just two weeks before the start of presidential elections in the country, the National Extraordinary Commission for\u00a0Public Health established\u00a0\u201cthe red code\u201d of emergency in public health in most administrative territorial units (except for Hincesti, Leovo and Soroca Districts)[1]<\/a>.\u00a0<\/a> Internationally, according to the data published by the World Health Organization[2]<\/a>,\u00a0<\/a>the spread of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has entered a new phase, with the number of infected increasing daily,\u00a0especially in Europe and Americas[3]<\/a>.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Therefore,\u00a0we ascertain that the Presidential Elections of November 1, 2020\u00a0will be held\u00a0under limited monitoring both by national and international missions,\u00a0as well as by observers\u2019 representing presidential candidates.\u00a0In this regard,\u00a0we note\u00a0that the\u00a0number of national and international observers who will be monitoring the conduct of the elections is significantly lower\u00a0compared to\u00a0previous\u00a0national\u00a0elections.<\/p>\n Thus, the presidential elections of 2016 were monitored by 3,096 national observers and, respectively, 562 international observers\u00a0accredited by the CEC. The parliamentary\u00a0elections of 2019 were attended by 3,389 national and, respectively, 776 international observers.\u00a0At the same\u00a0time,\u00a0for the presidential elections of\u00a0November 1, 2020, (as of October 15, 2020) the CEC accredited only 1,070 national observers representing public associations (32% of the total number of observers involved in 2019 elections) and only 139\u00a0international observers (17\u00a0% of the total number of observers involved in 2019 elections).<\/p>\n In addition, we remind the reader that the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has decided to modify the format of Election Observation Missions (EOM) in the Republic of Moldova, limiting the observation missions to long-term ones only[4]<\/a>. This means that the EOM will not\u00a0have short-term observers,\u00a0who\u00a0represent the largest\u00a0number\u00a0of\u00a0international\u00a0observers\u00a0and who\u00a0directly monitor the events of Election Day.<\/p>\n In conclusion<\/strong>, we consider that\u00a0given the specific circumstances of this election and lack of observers\u00a0in\u00a0several polling stations,\u00a0video monitoring of election operations throughout the day (from the preparations for the opening of the polling station until the tabulation of voting results by PEB members)\u00a0can increase the transparency of electoral procedures\u00a0on Election Day and help prevent or prove possible violations.\u00a0Accordingly,\u00a0video monitoring of electoral procedures\u00a0can help increase public confidence in the final results of the elections confirmed by electoral authorities. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n In light of the above,\u00a0we ask\u00a0the Central\u00a0Electoral\u00a0Commission to urgently operate\u00a0the necessary amendments to\u00a0the Regulation on the operation of the video recording systems in polling stations\u00a0<\/em>approved by the CEC Decision no.\u00a02265 of February 8, 2019, providing for conducting video recording of\u00a0electoral\u00a0operations\u00a0not only until the opening of the polling station and during the vote counting procedures, but\u00a0throughout the Election Day\u00a0(\u00a0at least,[5]<\/a> as it had been\u00a0originally stated when the decision to purchase video\u00a0equipment was made\u00a0and accordingly, implemented\u00a0the parliamentary elections of 2019).<\/p>\n The signatories of this Application believe that,\u00a0video monitoring of electoral operations throughout Election Day\u00a0is substantiated by the following considerations:<\/em><\/p>\n –\u00a0Increasing voters’ confidence in the correctness of electoral operations\u00a0carried out;<\/em><\/p>\n –\u00a0Increasing the responsibility of members of electoral bodies\u00a0while performing electoral operations;<\/em><\/p>\n –\u00a0Reducing potential violations, electoral fraud within polling stations, as well as ensuring compliance with epidemiological rules\u00a0imposed by the\u00a0Covid-19\u00a0pandemic;<\/em><\/p>\n –\u00a0Availability of recorded video evidence in case of clashes, violations or filing complaints.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n [1]<\/a> National Extraordinary Commission for\u00a0Public Health,\u00a0\u00a0Decision<\/a><\/u>\u00a0no.\u00a034 of 13.10.2020<\/p>\n [2]<\/a>WHO<\/a><\/u>\u00a0Coronavirus\u00a0Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Press release <\/a><\/u>\u00a0of the WHO on COVID-19 of October 12, 2020<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> The OSCE \/ ODIHR election observation mission<\/a><\/u>\u00a0informed the Central Electoral Commission about the change in the format of the observation activity carried out in the Republic of Moldova.<\/p>\n