{"id":648,"date":"2010-09-30T19:00:41","date_gmt":"2010-09-30T19:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alegeliber.md\/?p=648"},"modified":"2010-10-06T07:30:26","modified_gmt":"2010-10-06T07:30:26","slug":"lec%c8%9biile-referendumului-constitu%c8%9bional-din-5-septembrie-2010-analiza-post-referendum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alegeliber.md\/en\/lec%c8%9biile-referendumului-constitu%c8%9bional-din-5-septembrie-2010-analiza-post-referendum-648.html","title":{"rendered":"Lessons of the constitutional referendum held on September 5, 2010. Post-referendum analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-649\" href=\"http:\/\/alegeliber.md\/?attachment_id=649\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-649\" title=\"Nicolae Panfil\" src=\"https:\/\/alegeliber.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Panfil.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"178\" height=\"215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alegeliber.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Panfil.jpg 250w, https:\/\/alegeliber.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Panfil-83x100.jpg 83w, https:\/\/alegeliber.md\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Panfil-166x200.jpg 166w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 178px) 100vw, 178px\" \/><\/a>The results of the constitutional referendum held on  September 5, 2010, namely the massive absenteeism of citizens to the  ballot boxes which caused the failure of the referendum, brought back a  topical question: who is responsible for civic\/electoral education of  citizens? Political class, i.e. parties and other political entities?  Authorities: Government, Central Electoral Commission? Mass media  outlets? Nongovernmental organizations?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For me personally, but also for colleagues in the Coalition for Free  and Fair Elections, this question can only have one answer \u2014  civic\/electoral education is the responsibility of the whole society of  the Republic of Moldova. Undoubtedly, each of the stakeholders mentioned  in the first paragraph of this article has its share of responsibility  and involvement in the actions of awareness raising and civic education  of voters.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, what happened in electoral campaign for constitutional  referendum of September 5? Why did so many people complain they were not  informed about the purpose and expected result of this referendum? Why  the political class neglected the citizens, inviting them to a  referendum without understanding what is at stake? What did the  authorities responsible for organizing the campaign, including for the  civic\/electoral education, to inform voters about the referendum? What  was the role of media in the electoral campaign and to what extent  people have received answers to their questions about the referendum  through the mass media? Where the NGOs have been active in  civic\/electoral education and what they have done in the electoral  campaign? What have citizens done or not to express their right to vote?  These are several basic questions to which we are obliged to find  answers so that the civil society would be able to ensure an active  participation of citizens in electoral processes.<\/p>\n<p>Immediately after the constitutional referendum of September 5, 2010,  the Association of Sociologists and Demographists of Moldova has made a  case study on non-participation of Moldovan citizens in this poll. The  study entitled \u201cErrors in polls or manipulation of public opinion\u201d<sup><a title=\"The study was carried out between 09.09.10\u201320.09.2010 on a sample of 1591 persons aged over 18 years, with an error margin of 2.6%.\" name=\"fn1\" href=\"http:\/\/www.e-democracy.md\/en\/comments\/political\/post-referendum-analysis\/#footnote\">[1]<\/a><\/sup> was presented at a recent scientific-practical conference. Thus,  sociologists have identified 19 reasons for non-participation of  citizens in the referendum, the reasons that originate from the area of  influence of the political class, the state authorities responsible for  organizing the elections, from the area of media or civil society.<\/p>\n<h4>What the political parties have not done<\/h4>\n<p>At least six out of those 19 reasons of absenteeism, mentioned in the  study, can be categorized as political by nature or those that can be  directly controlled by the political class:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Questions submitted to referendum are not the most important for me (are of no interest) (19.8%)<\/li>\n<li>None of the parties has convinced me (16.3%)<\/li>\n<li>Lack of confidence in political parties and their leaders (14.2%)<\/li>\n<li>Fear that validation of the referendum would postponed the early elections (9.1%)<\/li>\n<li>Insufficient information about the referendum (8.4%) and<\/li>\n<li>Unfortunate time for organizing and holding the poll (5.8%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Proceeding from these answers, the political class should understand  the importance that selection of campaigning issues should match with  the citizen\u2019s agenda. Political parties should use more efficiently  their potential of persuasion, and the most persuasive are the real  facts and concrete actions. As for the confidence that voters have lost  regarding the political class and party leaders, we must remember that  trust is not given to anyone for free, it must be earned and proven by  facts, it also applies to parties that are\/were the ruling ones, as well  as to those in opposition and extra-parliamentary ones that should find  issues and actions that would highlight their value. Another conclusion  is that political parties must be much more active and get involved in  the regions with various awareness raising campaigns regarding the  importance for all voters to participate in the electoral processes, and  this information should be submitted in a language that is accessible  to the ordinary voter. Political leaders must be honest with voters,  refraining from manipulating or pushing them, because sooner or later  these practices turn against politicians (a great part of voters already  stated that they already lost the confidence in all political class of  Moldova).<\/p>\n<h4>What the authorities have not done<\/h4>\n<p>Answering the question \u201cIf you did not attend the constitutional  referendum of September 5, 2010, indicate the reasons that prevented you  from going to vote?\u201d, many voters directly or indirectly pointed out to  the state bodies:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Protest against the corruption of civil servants (12.1%)<\/li>\n<li>Protest against the social-economic situation (8.8%)<\/li>\n<li>Fear that referendum results will be falsified (8.2%)<\/li>\n<li>Disregard shown to my interests by public persons (7.9%)<\/li>\n<li>Unfairness of the referendum campaign (6.2%)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>State bodies such as the Central Electoral Commission (CEC),  Broadcasting Coordination Council and even the Government as a whole  have the responsibility to ensure a well organized, free, fair and  democratic electoral process, which would exclude any suspicions about  possible rigging elections. In this context, it is very important for  CEC to make order in the electoral lists, which are mysteriously  inflating for elections to elections. CEC also has to carry out more  extensive civic education campaigns during electoral campaigns, but only  in those periods.<\/p>\n<p>In the same context, it should be mentioned that the central  electoral authority has created confusion with registration and  acceptance in the referendum campaign those parties that have actually  decided to boycott the poll, calling on people to refrain from  participating the a democratic exercise such as the referendum.  Subsequently, this decision of CEC has created difficulties for  nongovernmental organizations in formulating the message of civic  education, and some media outlets who have understood to urge citizens  to use their voting rights have been even sanctioned by Broadcasting  Coordination Council (BCC) because have aired during the campaign civic  education spots urging citizens to participate in elections.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, the bodies such as BCC should ensure a more  efficient and permanent control over the compliance with the  journalistic ethics by all broadcasters, applying similar sanctions when  the law is violated. However, if the BCC reaction in cases of breach of  the Broadcasting Code is missing or disproportionate or unjustified,  the TV-audience and radio-listeners would be deprived of their right to  correct information and to pluralism of opinion in the radio\/TV  programs.<\/p>\n<h4>What the media have not done<\/h4>\n<p>Some (8.4%) of participants in the survey accomplished by the  Association of Sociologists Demographists said they were not  sufficiently well informed about the referendum, and this also refers to  how the media outlets have worked. In part this is explained by the  fact that the information conveyed by the media concentrated in Chisinau  is not accessible to all citizens, and similarly in many villages  people have had access just to one opinion given the limited number of  radio\/TV stations. During this referendum some media outlets have been  politically engaged, issuing lies and social phobias that determined  some people to refrain from voting. Ultimately, the answers like \u201cI  didn\u2019t attend the referendum because I feared that the validation of the  referendum would postpone the early elections\u201d or \u201cI was afraid that  referendum results will be falsified\u201d and \u201cHowever my vote will not  decide anything\u201d are precisely the messages issued by politically biased  media, and the BCC did not respond promptly to cases of deception and  breach of the principle of pluralism in presentation of opinions. Also,  some broadcasters with national coverage have not accomplished electoral  debates, although the electoral legislation obliges them to do so etc.,  they have been not sanctioned. In its turn, BCC also didn\u2019t observe  exactly the electoral legislation regarding the presentation of BCC  reports on monitoring over broadcasts.<\/p>\n<p>However, lately the media in Moldova has showed that it can impose  issues on the public agenda and even on the agenda of politicians. It  would be very good if the media would focus on real problems of  citizens, especially when politicians are unable or unwilling to do so.<\/p>\n<h4>What non governmental organizations have not done<\/h4>\n<p>The constitutional referendum of September 5 gave NGOs a hard lesson  to be learned well if we do not want to repeat absenteeism in election  to come. Members of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections have  carried out several activities of civic and electoral education, but  this effort was insufficient since the other social stakeholders  (political parties first of all) did not understand to get more  involved. The short period of time when civic education activities were  conducted, the lack of financial resources for these activities caused  their low efficiency. Civic education of citizens should be continuous,  not just on the eve of electoral campaigns, and this means that  nongovernmental organizations should hold a continuous dialogue with  social partners and donors that could support such projects. Another  lesson learned in this referendum is that NGOs, civil society as a whole  should not be intimidated by the parties interested that people  wouldn\u2019t think freely when going to vote. Similarly, we should not  tolerate the violation of the right to balanced and accurate information  in electoral campaigns.<\/p>\n<h4>What the voters have not done<\/h4>\n<p>Proceeding from the results of the study mentioned above, we note and  another category of reasons for non-participation of citizens entitled  to vote at the constitutional referendum. These also include the  following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>During that period I was not in the locality where I am registered (10.9%)<\/li>\n<li>The belief that my vote will not decide anything (9.6%)<\/li>\n<li>I have no desire to vote (9.1%)<\/li>\n<li>I was busy with more important things (7.3%)<\/li>\n<li>Problems of health and age (6.0%)<\/li>\n<li>Unfortunate time for organizing and holding the poll (5.8%)<\/li>\n<li>Family problems (3.5%)<\/li>\n<li>Lack of ID card (2.4%)<\/li>\n<li>I was confused by the results of sociological surveys (0.7%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Analyzing the results of the study, the sociologists remind <em>about the phenomenon<\/em> of social desirability, which means that the respondent seeks to answer  the questionnaire in a way that would please the one who asks. We may  therefore assume that some persons who were asked to say why they did  not go to referendum felt some discomfort and turned to explanations  like those above. Regardless of this, some people\u2019s trend to avoid  participation in electoral processes is very worrying. Other  stakeholders involved in civic\/electoral education should take this into  account when planning public informative and awareness raising  campaigns regarding the importance of motivating every voter to exercise  the right to vote. And this will happen only if one takes into account  the problems and expectations of voters. Such an approach would make us  confident that it is possible to reach to civic reason and conscience of  every citizen with voting right in our country. However, motivation of  the citizens to participate in elections should also come from within  every person, so that it would be no longer possible to use arguments  and excuses like someone was not in locality on election day (there were  solutions to these problems \u2014 voting certificate, declaration on voting  in the place of stay, things that we had to learn, to seek solutions if  we would really want to vote), the confusion induced by surveys (even  if there were surveys saying that referendum\u2019s turnout will be even 85%  voters, however one cannot let the neighbour vote for you), etc.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, I reiterate the idea that started this article \u2014  civic\/electoral education represents a responsibility of the entire  society, of all stakeholders involved in electoral campaigns and it  depends on us all whether we are going to have free, fair, conscious and  democratic parliamentary elections in November 2010.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>Nicolae Panfil,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>Secretary of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"footnote\">\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.e-democracy.md\/en\/comments\/political\/post-referendum-analysis\/#fn1\">\u2191<\/a> The study was carried out between 09.09.10\u201320.09.2010 on a sample of  1591 persons aged over 18 years, with an error margin of 2.6%.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The results of the constitutional referendum held on September 5, 2010, namely the massive absenteeism of citizens to the ballot boxes which caused the failure of the referendum, brought back a topical question: who is responsible for civic\/electoral education of citizens? Political class, i.e. parties and other political entities? Authorities: Government, Central Electoral Commission? Mass [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alegeliber.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alegeliber.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alegeliber.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alegeliber.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alegeliber.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alegeliber.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alegeliber.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alegeliber.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alegeliber.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}