Peculiarities of Establishing and Operating Polling Stations and Precinct Electoral Bureaus Abroad

(1) All polling stations established abroad shall operate in compliance with the peculiarities referred to in this Code.

(2) In parliamentary, presidential elections and republican referenda, one or more polling stations shall be established within the diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Republic of Moldova for voters who are abroad on the Election Day.

(3) Besides the polling stations referred to in paragraph (2), with the agreements of competent authorities of the respective country, will be rganized polling stations in other localities as well. The creation of these polling stations is established by the Central Electoral Commission, with the prior notice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration based on the number voters that have participated during the previous elections, hedl in national constituency, based on the preliminary registration of Moldovan citizens residing abroad, as welle as the information obtained from by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration from the competent authorities of the countries of residence of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, regarding their number and place of residence. he prior notice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration will refer to the fulfillment of the condition to obtain the agreement of the competent authorities of the respective country, as well as to the possiblity of ensuring the logistics of the voting process. The regulation on prior registration is approved by the Central Election Commission.

(5) The Precinct Electoral Bureau established abroad shall consist of a Chairperson, appointed by the head of the diplomatic or consular mission or by the staff of other institutions within the diplomatic unit, and of 6 to 10 representatives of political parties and of other socio-political organisations represented in Parliament, one representative from each party or socio-political organisation. The Precinct Electoral Bureaus established abroad shall be completed with representatives of political parties by Chisinau District Electoral Council. In case the number of persons nominated by the parliamentary political factions is not sufficient to complete with staff the Precinct Electoral Bureaus established abroad, they will be supplemented with persons recorded in the Registry of Election Officials, who have good reputation, are politically non-affiliated, with the endorsement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.

(6) The peculiarities of organisation and operation of polling stations established abroad are regulated by the Central Electoral Commission, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. The costs related to the organisation and operation of those bureaus are covered out of the budget allocated for elections/referenda. The expenditures for the polling stations established abroad are estimated beforehand by the Government and by the Central Electoral Commission, and in case they are not foreseen in the budget allocated for elections/referenda, financial recourses are allocated from the Reserve Fund of the Government.

(7) The Protocols prepared by Precinct Electoral Bureaus established abroad, together with all complaints related to election procedures carried out by the Precinct Electoral Bureau, shall be conveyed, via electronic means, to the District Electoral Council within 24 hours at most following the closure of polling stations. The accuracy of the data included in those Protocols is confirmed by phone. Should sufficiently proved discrepancies or errors occur, they shall be corrected by Chisinau District Electoral Council.