Home > 3.2 Proportional systems > MOLDOVA - Joint Opinion on the Draft Laws on Amending and Completing Certain Legislative Acts (Electoral System for the Election of the Parliament)
 
 
 
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Paragraph 20
 

The 2014 Joint Opinion addressed a further proposal to introduce a mixed electoral system, which raised a number of issues. Apart from the timeframe of the reform (less than one year before scheduled parliamentary elections), it underlined the absence of public debate (at the time when the draft was submitted for opinion). It included the following remarks:



  • “The proposed mixed electoral system, in which 51 Members of Parliament (MPs) out of the 101 shall be elected by a proportional closed-list system in one single nationwide constituency and 50 MPs shall be elected in as many single-member constituencies, is a fundamental reform. In the present Moldovan context, the proposed reform could potentially have a negative effect at the local level, where independent majoritarian candidates may develop links with or be influenced by local businesspeople or other actors who follow their own separate interests.

  • Achieving better accountability of the political institutions towards the citizens is a key goal in the Republic of Moldova, which requires adopting pending legislation, rather than launching a new comprehensive electoral reform. To that end, it is strongly recommended to revise legislation regarding political parties and electoral campaign finance, as advised in the Joint Opinion of the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR on draft legislation of the Republic of Moldova pertaining to financing political parties and election campaigns (CDL-AD(2013)002).

  • Although the creation of electoral districts could improve representation of minorities, it presents important challenges. A clearer methodology for the delimitation of constituencies, further assessment and provision for periodical review are highly recommended.


  • The problem of the representation of Transnistria and of Moldovan citizens living abroad has not been addressed in a convincing and implementable solution in the present draft.”