Collection of signatures in support of the candidate for the position of President of the Republic of Moldova and of the independent candidate

(1) For the purposes of this Article, signatures shall be collected only to support candidates for the position of the President of the Republic of Moldova and for independent candidates for the position of Member of the Parliament of Moldova, councillor in local council and/or the Mayor.

(2) Signatures shall be collected in accordance with the general requirements laid down in this Article and the special conditions laid down in Titles III to V, corresponding to the type of elections for which the candidate is supported, as well as those laid down in the administrative acts adopted by the Central Electoral Commission for that purpose, including by ensuring compliance with the legislation on the protection of personal data.

(3) Shall have the right to collect signatures independent candidates, candidates for the position of President of the Republic of Moldova and the members of the initiative group (collectors), established to support those candidates in elections. In Presidential Elections, the establishment and registration of the initiative groups for the collection of signatures shall be compulsory. In Parliamentary and Local Elections, the independent candidate may choose not to establish an initiative group if he/she decides to collect signatures by himself/herself.

(4) The manner for establishing and registering the initiative groups to support candidates for one of the elective positions listed in paragraph (1) is laid down by Titles III to V and in the administrative acts of the Commission adopted for that purpose. The initiative group, established under the terms laid of this Code, shall be registered at:

a) the Central Electoral Commission — in case of supporting the candidate for the position of President of the Republic of Moldova or an independent candidate for the position of Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova;

b) the District Electoral Council — in case of supporting an independent candidate for the position of councillor in local council and/or Mayor.

(5) The collection of signatures shall begin on the date of nomination of the candidate under the conditions laid down in Article 63. The electoral body shall issue the signatures collecting lists and the badges for the collectors on the date of registration of the initiative group and/or on the date of independent candidate addressing.

(6) Signatures shall be collected on the basis of the signatures collecting lists, the model of which is being approved by the Central Electoral Commission. The signatures collecting lists shall be issued by the electoral body which has the power to register the candidate.

(7) The signatures collecting lists shall include the elective position for which signatures are collected, the candidate’s surname and forename, the year of birth, the profession (occupations), the place of work and the person who appointed him/her, as well as the surname and forename of the collector.

(8) In the signatures collecting list, the candidate’s supporter shall fill in the personal data and apply the signature by himself/herself. If the supporter cannot, for objective reasons, fill in the requested data in person, that information shall be completed by the collector. The signature on the signatures collecting list shall be applied by the supporter in person, if this is not possible - by its representative.

(9) The collector shall be responsible for the authenticity of the data on drawn up signatures collecting list. On each signatures collecting list, the collector states that the signatures were collected by him/her and that he/she confirms the authenticity of the signatories and then signs.

(10) For infringement of the provisions on the procedure for collecting signatures and on the protection of personal data, the collector is liable according to the law.

(11) The supporter of the candidate can only be a person who, at the time of signing the signatures collecting list, is eligible to vote. A voter may support several candidates, including for several elective duties, by signing for them. A voter cannot support the same candidate, by signing, twice or more times.

(12) Depending on the type of held elections, the signatures are being collected:

a) in any locality in the national electoral district — in Parliamentary Elections;

b) in any locality from at least half of the number of localities from the second-level administrative-territorial units, established in accordance with Law No 764/2001 on the administrative and territorial organisation of the Republic of Moldova – in Presidential Elections;

c) in the locality/localities of the Electoral District in which he/she submits the candidature – in local elections.

(13) The signatures collecting list will only contain signatures of supporters who are allocated in a single district in which elections are to be held. In Elections for the position of President of the Republic of Moldova, the signatures collecting list shall contain only signatures of supporters from the same second-level administrative-territorial unit.