Peculiarities of the establishment and functioning of polling stations from abroad and Precinct Electoral Bureaus from abroad

(1) For Parliamentary, Presidential Elections and Referendum, within the diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Republic of Moldova, may be organised one or more polling stations for voters that on Elections Day will be abroad.

(2) The polling stations established abroad shall operate in accordance with the peculiarities regulated in this Code and shall be organised at least 35 days before the Elections Day.

(3) In addition to the polling stations referred to in paragraph (1), with the agree­ment of the competent authorities of the concerned countries, may be organised polling stations for a locality or several localities in which, according to the data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Integration, there are at least 500 citizens of the Re­public of Moldova that have provisional or permanent residence.

(4) The opening of the polling stations referred to in paragraph (1) and (3) shall be established by the Central Electoral Commission, with the preliminary opinion of the Min­istry of Foreign Affairs from the competent authorities of the concerned country and the existence of technical and logistic possibility for ensuring the voting process.

(5) The legal ground for the establishment of polling stations is the dynamic of vot­ers participation in polling stations from abroad in the last 3 elections, taking also into account the additional data on the preliminary registration of citizens of the Republic of Moldova from abroad and the information provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration on the number and location of citizens of the Republic of Moldova from abroad (collected on the basis of the consular record or other relevant data). The Regulation on the establishment of polling stations from abroad and preliminary registra­tion shall be approved by the Central Electoral Commission.

(6) Precinct Electoral Bureaus from abroad shall include an odd number of mem­bers of at least 5 persons and no more than 15 persons. The members of the Precinct Electoral Bureau from abroad shall be nominated by the relevant subjects, as follows:

a) 2 members are proposed by the European Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Integration. They shall perform ex officio the duties of Chairperson and Sec­retary of the Precinct Electoral Bureau concerned;

b) one member shall be proposed by each political party represented in the Parliament.

(7) If political parties do not submit their candidatures within the Precinct Elector­al Bureau no later than 5 days before the expiry of the deadline for establishment of the Precinct Electoral Bureau, as well as if after the nomination of the candidates by all the subjects entitled to do it, the number is insufficient, or the Precinct Electoral Bureau consist of an even number, the candidatures shall be submitted by the District Electoral Council, on the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. If the latest also doesn’t submit the candidatures, the remaining seats shall be completed by the Central Electoral Commission from the persons entered into the Register of Electoral Officials.

(8) From the moment the date of elections is being established, on the information resources of the Central Electoral Commission shall be periodically published relevant in­formation on the out of country voting and until the establishment of the polling stations from abroad, shall be published information on the number and possible locations of polling stations from abroad.

(9) The peculiarities of the organisation and operation of Precinct Electoral Bureaus from abroad are regulated by the Central Electoral Commission, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.