Home > 1.2.2 Equal voting power/constituency delimitation > MOLDOVA- Joint Opinion on the Draft Law Amending the Electoral Legislation
 
 
 
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Paragraph 32
 

2. On the delimitation of constituencies


Concerning the size of the constituencies, the draft foresees the allocation of constituencies without including or explaining the criteria applied. According to the Code of Good Practice, “Equal voting power […] entails a clear and balanced distribution of seats among constituencies on the basis of one of the following allocation criteria: population, number of resident nationals (including minors), number of registered voters, and possibly the number of people actually voting. An appropriate combination of these criteria may be envisaged. […] The geographical criterion and administrative, or possibly even historical, boundaries may be taken into consideration.”[1]


[1] CDL-AD(200223rev, section 2.2(ii) and (iii). See also paragraph 7.3 of the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document, which requires the equality of the vote, and point 3.2 of the Existing Commitments for Democratic Elections in OSCE Participating States, ODIHR, Warsaw, October 2003.: “The delineation of constituencies in which elections are conducted must preserve the equality of voting rights by providing approximately the same ratio of voters to elected representatives for each district. Existing administrative divisions or other relevant factors (including of a historical, demographic, or geographical nature) may be reflected in election districts, provided the design of the districts is consistent with the equality of voting and fair representation for different groups in society.”