The signatory organizations, members of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CALC), appeal

The signatory organizations, members of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CALC), appeal to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova: To organize public consultations on the draft law no. 263 regarding the amendment of electoral legislation in a transparent manner and with the participation of all interested parties. To withdraw from the draft law the dangerous provisions for the organization and conduct of a free and fair electoral process, the activity of electoral observers and for the equidistant and fair coverage of the electoral campaign by the mass media. On July 9, 2020, the Parliament approved in the first reading the draft law no. 263 regarding the amendment of the electoral and related legislation registered by a group of deputies on June 19, 2020. On June 25, 2020, i.e. more than 6 days after registration, the Legal Committee on Appointments and Immunities of the Parliament (Legal Committee) approved the report by which it proposed the project for approval for reading 1, noting that the project was developed by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) with the participation of several civil society organizations, including CALC. Before approval, the Legal Commission did not publicly consult the draft law in accordance with the provisions of the legislation on decision-making transparency and the Parliament's Regulations. The day before, on June 24, 2020, CALC launched a public appeal calling on the CEC and the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova to ensure a transparent and inclusive process in the examination and adoption of the draft law on amending the electoral legislation and preparing for the organization of elections in conditions of the pandemic, which was ignored by the authorities. In this context, we mention that the organization of public consultations on legislative projects is an obligation of the permanent parliamentary committees and is in no way conditioned by the conduct of the consultative process by other public institutions. At the same time, we would like to point out the fact that the CEC's approval of the draft law was preceded by 2 meetings with CALC representatives, at which the opinions of the Coalition members were presented regarding the necessary amendments to the electoral legislation. These meetings cannot be considered consultations or public debates, they were organized at the request of CALC and CALC members only presented their opinions, without discussions with all interested parties regarding the draft law. On June 2, 2020, the CEC hastily approved the draft law to amend the electoral and related legislation, through Decision no. 3949, without questioning part of the proposals submitted by CALC members. The latter, according to the CEC president, were to be sent to the Parliament and the Government together with the voted bill, but also published on the CEC web page. Thus, several of the key proposals formulated by CALC member organizations were not found in the respective bill. In that case, by partially taking over the CALC recommendations; it is impossible to really solve the problems identified by the members of the Coalition, especially regarding the provisions related to: the introduction of the principles of the electoral system; the rules related to electoral agitation; notions regarding inclusion, disability, administrative resources, accessibility; publishing and ensuring transparency in the process of drafting/adopting CEC decisions; the opening of polling stations abroad; the complete mechanism for examining appeals; clarity in the forms of legal liability; the provisions of the Contraventional and Criminal Code regarding liability for electoral violations; the proposals for the restrictions in art. 13 (candidacy of the President of the Republic of Moldova); the provisions of the law regarding political parties, etc. At the same time, we point out that the draft law no. 263 contains several controversial and even dangerous provisions with the risk of vitiating the elections, which target several aspects of the electoral process. The most problematic of these concern the coverage of the electoral campaign by the mass media, the activity of observers, the organization of the electoral process and, in particular, ensuring the voters' right to vote in the current epidemiological conditions. Below are presented the main findings and recommendations of CALC regarding the amendment of electoral and related legislation. In the field of organizing the electoral process Through an express provision in the Electoral Code, the CEC must be obliged to draw up a clear and predictable regulation that will establish the manner and conditions of opening polling stations abroad; Keeping the period for exercising the right to vote (art. 58 para. (7) of the Electoral Code) and extending the activity period of the office by a maximum of 3 or 4 hours, based on the real situation in the ward. It is imperative to reform the way of constitution and activity of the Central Electoral Commission, by establishing permanent membership status for all CEC members and increasing institutional stewardship. The reform is to be carried out without delay and implemented in a year, in the summer of 2021 when the mandate of the current composition of the CEC expires. Ensuring the voter's right to vote It is necessary to review the reduction of voting time by 2 hours (art. 55 of the Electoral Code). In the current pandemic conditions, it is recommended to extend the voting time to avoid the crowding of people in the electoral offices and reduce the spread of the Covid-19 infection. The reduction of the activity time of the polling stations during one day must be conditioned exclusively by the extension of the voting period during two days for all voters. In the field of coverage of the campaign in the mass media Most of the proposals of the CALC and media NGOs to establish clear and correct rules for coverage of the elections by the mass media were ignored. The proposals to eliminate ambiguous provisions from articles 69 and 70 of the Electoral Code, which put media service providers in great difficulty during the last election polls. The obligation to broadcast electoral debates "in direct transmission mode only during peak audience hours - between 19:00 and 22:00 on weekdays and between 17:00 and 22:00 on days off", for objective reasons, cannot be honored by media service providers. The project proposes to complete art. 84 of the Audiovisual Media Services Code with two paragraphs. new (101 and 102), which grants the Broadcasting Council powers that can be applied abusively by imposing discretionary sanctions on media service providers, including by suspending the broadcast license. The acceptance by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova of these amendments will have destructive effects for the freedom of the mass media in the country and, consequently, for the adequate information of the electorate. In the field of observing the electoral process, the Project contains provisions that will protect and diminish the rights of observers, but also of non-governmental organizations, namely: Bureaucratization of full access to the electoral and subscription lists, or the procedure for the accreditation of observers already means an effort and a legal commitment ; The attempt to modify the current provisions that allow the accreditation and activity of observers before the start of the electoral period, but also after its completion. At the same time, several changes to the existing provisions of the draft law are required, namely: The inclusion of provisions regarding the accreditation of observers from political parties at the stage of collecting subscription signatures, but currently, this right is held only by electoral competitors, who are excluded from monitoring this important stage of the electoral process; Establishing the exact and clear conditions for canceling the accreditation of an observer, as well as the way to challenge this decision; Clarification of the provision regarding the prohibition of electoral agitation for non-commercial, trade union and charitable organizations (art. 52 para. (3) of the Criminal Code). In the proposed version, the provision is ambiguous and can be applied abusively by prohibiting election monitoring, public expression of certain irregularities detected during the electoral campaign, etc. Uniformization of the provisions proposed for the sanctioning of all actors from the non-governmental sphere, or at the moment, for example, non-commercial organizations can be sanctioned for involvement in any form in the electoral campaign, and religious cults only for electoral agitation. To establish the transparency of the data (donor's name, surname; year of birth; place of work; occupation; source of financing) from the financial reports of the electoral contestants; The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (www.alegeliber.md) is a permanent, voluntary entity, made up of 35 public organizations from the Republic of Moldova with the aim of contributing to the development of democracy in the Republic of Moldova by promoting and conducting free and fair elections in accordance with the standards of the ODIHR (OSCE), of the Council of Europe and its affiliated specialized institutions.