Home > 6.4 Special conditions to participate in the elections > MOLDOVA - Joint Opinion on Amendments to the Electoral Code and other Related Laws Concerning Ineligibility of Persons Connected to Political Parties Declared Unconstitutional
 
 
 
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Paragraph 54
 

Two other amendments in the Law directly affect the right to stand for election and, in this respect, also need to be examined for compliance with the proportionality principle. A new provision in the Law on Political Parties (Article 4(6)) provides that the attributes of political parties declared unconstitutional (name, symbol, logo, etc.) may not be used by other political parties and electoral subjects. Using such attributes will result in refusal to register the political party by the Public Service A gency or refusal to register the electoral subject by the competent electoral body. While a prohibition on use of the attributes of a banned political party may not, as such, breach any international standard, the automatic refusal to register a political or electoral subject for use of such attributes is disproportionate in light of the nature of the act. Alternative remedial measures, such as warnings and a range of fines would be in line with the proportionality principle as applied to such conduct. This same analysis is applicable to a new provision in the Electoral Code which mandates de registration of an electoral subject if found liable for vote buying by a competent electoral body, regardless of the severity of the conduct (Article 102(5)(f)). Intro duction of a range of administrative sanctions and their individualisation, with de registration reserved only for the most serious cases or patterns of vote buying, would be in line with the principle of proportionality.