Although decreased for electoral blocs, the threshold remains at 6% for parties and sociopolitical organisations, and 8% for electoral blocs (Article 89). The June 2017 opinion stated that “[t]he thresholds for political parties to enter the Parliament, as stipulated in Article 86 (2) of the current Electoral Code and replicated in Article 89 (2) of the draft, remain high. While a certain threshold may be necessary to provide stability in Parliament and effective governments, such thresholds should be carefully justified within a specific legislative and political context. Given that five party lists obtained seats in the last election, the necessity of such threshold should be further examined. The Venice Commission and ODIHR have consistently recommended lowering the thresholds in the Republic of Moldova. As ODIHR and the Venice Commission mentioned in the 2008 joint opinion on the election code of Moldova, a relatively high threshold of 6% may lead to a high number of wasted votes. In this respect, the introduction of 51 single member constituencies to be awarded by a first past the post system will amplify the effect of the 6% threshold in the proportional part of the electoral system. The ODIHR and the Venice Commission reiterate their recommendation to consider lowering the threshold and stress its importance within the context of the new mixed electoral system.