29th Session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (Strasbourg, 20-22 October 2015)

Presentation by Line Skoii Vennesland Fraser (Norway, ECR), Congress Rapporteur on local elections

Presentation Debate on the “Observation of local elections in the republic of Moldova (14 June 2015)”

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Dear Colleagues,

It is my pleasure to present the overall conclusions of the Congress' mission carried out in the Republic of Moldova, to observe the local elections held no 14th of June 2015.

On that day, the Moldovan people were called to elect Mayors and local councillors at two levels of territorial government.

Due to the so-called frozen conflict in Transnistria, no elections took place in this region.

Together with my colleagues we were able to assess the vote in more than 150 polling stations on Election Day.  We can say that they were technically well prepared and took place in a calm and orderly manner, based on a legal framework which is overall in line with European standards.

You may be aware that these elections took place in a very difficult political and socioeconomic environment.  The corruption scandal in the banking sector affected the entire political system, and clearly shows the state's failure to protect their citizens interests.   The banking scandal undermined the citizen's confidence in the political class - which was already quite low - and culminated in the resignation of the Prime Minister two days prior to the local elections in June.  

In the meantime, the problems are far from being solved.  There is a general disappointment of the people of Moldova, some look to Europe for answers, some believe prosperity lies with the Eurasian Economic Union, but both camps are united in their disappointment with the political class, clearly shown in the anti-government protest in Chisinau in September.  Recent development in the banking scandal involving detention of former Prime Minister has also reached us.  How the authorities and the judicial system handles this case from now on will be crucial when it comes to trust from the citizens in Moldova and from the international environment.

The Congress observers recognize the efforts made by the Moldovan authorities to further improve the legal framework for elections, especially restrictions on party funding and campaign activities, though the amendments were adopted shortly before the elections.  We also acknowledge the measures taken to ensure accuracy of voters list through the State Automated Information System "Elections" by which voters' lists were generated, voters identified and checked against multiple voting, and results were processed.

However, the quality of voters' lists remains a matter of concern.  Like in other Council of Europe countries, there is a great number of Moldavian voters, approximately 1 million, who are registered on the lists, but are living defacto abroad, but can still vote if in the country on E-day.  As you may remember, The Congress adopted in March, a recommendation urging governments to make sure that only voters actually residing in a specific municipality can vote for their local representatives. The current situation in Moldova is at odds with this recommendation, and in addition the supplementary voters lists which enable voters to register directly in polling stations on E-day is against international election standards, notably of the Venice commission.

Over-restrictive requirements for registration of independent candidates does not encourage democracy, neither does intimidation of them, as reported to the Congress.  To restore citizens trust in the political class equal opportunities, funding and rights must be given to all contestants.

Women’s participation in the electoral process is also a key issue.  Very few are running candidates in the election, even though most polling stations are managed by a vast majority of women.  I personally are against quotation laws, but I still see them as a tool to reach a goal, so legal provisions should be introduced to ensure equal participation in politics.

To conclude, as this was my second election observation mission in the Republic of Moldova, I will also point to the situation of decentralisation and local government reform, where the authorities need to make more efforts for the full implementation of the National Decentralisation Strategy.  A modern, decentralised and effective administration is the premise for a good democracy, and an important step related to European integration.

I do not know any other countries in the world with an older law on local self-democracy than ours from 1837, but still, after almost 200 years with local democracy, Norway still strive to be better, so I think it is important to remind young democracies, and their citizens, stay focused, apply best practise from you European colleagues, don't lose faith, no democracy evolves to perfection in just a few years.

Thank you for your attention - I am happy to respond to your questions.