Home > 1. The principles of Europe's electoral heritage > MOLDOVA- Joint Opinion on the Electoral Code
 
 
 
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Paragraph 84
 

The most important recommendations offered by the OSCE/ODHIR and the Venice Commission in the present Joint Opinion are as follows:

 

Electoral system:

-          The electoral system for the Parliament should create possibilities for adequate participation in public life of national minorities and mainstream interests at regional level;

-          Turnout requirements for elections to be recognized as valid should be removed so as to avoid endless cycles of failed elections;

-          The thresholds for winning seats should not be increased and consideration should be given to introducing a single threshold for parties and coalitions to gain seats in Parliament;

 

Election administration:

-          The possibility for recall of election commission members should be reconsidered as it has the potential to undermine the independence and the stability of election administration;

-          The decision-making authority of members of the Central Election Commission with deliberative and consultative vote should be made clear;

 

Voters lists:

-     Further efforts need to be deployed to improve the reliability of the voters’ list, including through the introduction of a centralized and permanent voter register;

-     Should election day registration be maintained, adequate safeguards against possible multiple voting need to be instituted;

-     The maximum number of voters registered per polling station should be reduced;

 

Right to vote:

-     The provision for the denial of the right to vote to prisoners serving a sentence following a court ruling should be brought in line with the latest jurisprudence of the ECHR.

 

Candidate registration:

-          Signature collection and verification procedures should be further streamlined in order to ensure that this administrative measure does not impede inclusive candidate registration;

-          Proceedings in cases of violations of the law that can lead to the revocation of a candidacy should abide by the principle of presumption of innocence.

-          The order in which electoral contestants are listed on a ballot should be determined by drawing of lots rather than by the sequence of their registration.

 

Secrecy of vote:

-          The secrecy of vote should be better ensured by eliminating the requirement for stamping of ballots after they have been marked by voters;

 

Campaign:

-     Restrictions to the right to campaign should be reviewed in order not to preclude a meaningful pre-electoral campaign, as well as not to contradict general principles of freedom of speech and expression;

 

Vote count, aggregation and publication of results:

-          Further control mechanisms during the count of votes should be introduced;

-          The authority of election commissions and courts with regard to invalidation of election results should be made clear;

-          The Code should oblige the Central Election Commission to publish detailed election results by polling station on its website as soon as they have been processed by the DECs. 

 

Complaints and appeals:

Powers and responsibilities of various bodies responsible for the review of complaints and appeals should be clearly defined so as to avoid conflicts of jurisdiction. Appellants should not be granted the right to choose an appeal body.