5. The constituency abroad

Out-of-country voting is a central issue in Moldova, due to the large number of citizens living abroad.[1]Voters abroad are already eligible to vote in parliamentary elections. The 2010 OSCE/ODIHR EOM report on the parliamentary elections noted that, while there was an attempt to include Moldovans abroad in voting, the allocation of polling stations abroad did not correspond to the distribution of citizens of voting age residing abroad. Article 74.2 of the draft proposal establishes one single-member constituency abroad. While the practice of facilitating out-of-country voting varies among countries,there is a noted lack of consensus in the Moldovan context on the fairness and basis of establishing only one constituency. As previously stated, equality in voting power should be respected and the number of effective voters residing abroad taken into consideration to establish the constituencies abroad.

[1]According to various sources, these citizens account for up to 500,000 of a total of 2.6 million voters registered on voter lists, although there are differing estimates on these numbers. See Observation of the early parliamentary elections in Moldova (28 November 2010) Report, Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe, 24 January 2011.