The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections condemns the illegal and irresponsible decision of the Central Electoral Commission to open only 139 polling stations abroad for the July 11, 2021 early parliamentary elections.

The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections condemns the illegal and irresponsible decision of the Central Electoral Commission to open only 139 polling stations abroad for the July 11, 2021 early parliamentary elections. The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections calls on the CEC: to urgently amend Decision No. 4966 of 5 June 2021 on the establishment of polling stations abroad; to apply in good faith the three criteria set out in the Electoral Code for the establishment of at least 150 polling stations abroad, with the possibility of increasing their number if the MFAEI/Government makes sufficient financial resources available to the CEC for this purpose; to publish all documents relating to the process of establishing polling stations abroad, including the recommendations and prior opinion of the MFAEI. The Coalition's assessment of CEC Decision No. 4966 of 5 June 2021 on the establishment of polling stations abroad, as well as the requests set out above, are based on the following findings and arguments: the Central Electoral Commission did not take into account the three criteria[1] set out in the Electoral Code for the establishment of polling stations abroad. The CEC's disagreement with the criteria established by the legislator for the establishment of polling stations abroad, or the lack of clarity of those criteria, does not entitle the Commission to exclude them from application. The criteria were to be applied in a mandatory manner, and in this respect there is also the positive practice of the 2020 presidential elections, when the CEC gave each criterion an equal weight[2]. According to the provisions of the Electoral Code (art. 31 para. (2)) the organisation of polling stations for voters from abroad is established for each election. Despite this legal provision, according to statements by some CEC members, the establishment of 139 polling stations was based on the principle of preserving the number and location of polling stations organised for the 2020 presidential elections. An uneven interpretation and application of the legislation in force by the CEC can be observed. Thus, for example, in the context of the adoption of Decision no. 4965/2021 on the organization of polling stations for voters in the localities on the left bank of the Dniester River (Transnistria) in the early parliamentary elections of 11 July 2021, the rapporteur has presented reasons for the need to set up a larger number of polling stations than in the 2020 presidential elections, including: a) the request of an LPA to set up a polling station in the locality; b) the fact that in the presidential elections there were many cases of voters forming lines in front of polling stations and the need to streamline them. In contrast, compared to the organization of SV for voters from the Transnistrian region, where fewer voters voted in the 2020 presidential elections (second round - 31 784) than in the 2019 parliamentary elections (37 257) and the number of polling stations was increased by 2 SV, in the case of polling stations for voters from abroad, even though almost four times more voters voted in the 2020 presidential elections (second round) (263 177) than in the 2019 parliamentary elections (ca. 76 600), the number of polling stations has not changed. If we use the data published on www.inregistrare.cec.md and www.cec.md and check the application of the calculation formula used by the CEC when approving CEC Decision No. 4966/2021, maintaining the maximum number of 139 polling stations set by the CEC, serious discrepancies are observed between the number of polling stations approved by the CEC and the number obtained according to the calculation formula (see Annex 1). These discrepancies demonstrate that the Central Electoral Commission acted contrary to the Electoral Code and to its own arguments presented in the reasoning of Decision No 4966/2021. The CEC deliberately acted against the interest of voters abroad who clearly expressed their intention to vote. In this context, we recall that in the second round of the November 2020 presidential elections, the turnout abroad was an unprecedented 263 177 voters. At the same time, by 26 May 2021, pre-registration results showed 100050 declarations submitted online or on paper, including 39940 registrations made in 2021. Thus, the CEC completely ignored the problems faced by our citizens in the last elections in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and other countries (insufficient ballot papers, very long queues in front of polling stations, enormous efforts and expenses incurred by citizens to travel to vote). The resolution part of CEC Decision No 4966/2021, in particular the annex, does not correspond in logic and content to the descriptive part of the Decision. In particular, the descriptive part refers to: a) the organisation of 150 polling stations, the costs of which were provided for in the estimated expenditure estimates drawn up by the CEC; b) the organisation of 190 polling stations, on the basis of proposals from embassies; c) the organisation of 162 polling stations, a list of which was sent to the Government and the MFAEI for approval. From a full analysis of the text of the CEC decision and the way the meeting was conducted, we can say that the original meaning of the draft decision (which proposed the creation of 162 polling stations) was brutally hijacked without any justification by the author and supporters of the amendments that led to the creation of 139 polling stations abroad. The CEC disregarded its own decision No 4816 of 30 April 2021 adopting the cost estimate for the organisation of the elections, including the creation of 150 polling stations abroad. Although the Government has so far allocated only approx. 56% of the amount estimated in the estimate of expenditure (125 046,7 thousand lei), it has shown its readiness to allocate the CEC the additional financial means needed, starting from 20 June 2021. The lack of effective communication on the expenditure for polling stations abroad is attributable to both the Central Election Commission and the Government. However, as long as the necessary financial means are identifiable, the failure of the Government to provide a response in limited terms cannot be a reason to limit the number of polling stations. We note that at the CEC meeting on 05.06.2021, the Secretary of State of the MFAEI confirmed the readiness to identify the necessary financial means in the MFAEI budget, including for the establishment of 191 polling stations. At the same time, we draw attention to the fact that in previous elections, the estimated expenses for the organisation of elections usually exceeded the actual/final costs incurred by the CEC by about 20%. Under such conditions, we are convinced that there are prerequisites for the CEC to ensure the opening of at least 150 polling stations abroad, with the possibility of increasing their number if the Government provides sufficient financial resources for this purpose. The decision-making process on the establishment of polling stations abroad lacked transparency, as the decision of 5 June 2021 was adopted in the absence of public consultations with the participation of all stakeholders. The initial draft of the CEC decision (which provided for 162 polling stations to be set up abroad) and the recommendations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration on the number and locations of polling stations abroad were not made public. ANNEX: 1 Algorithm for calculating the number of polling stations abroad, based on the three criteria set out in Article 31 of the Electoral Code[3] Country Voters at last election Value/ weight of voters (%) Pre-registration Value/ weight of pre-registration (%) MFAIE information Value/ weight of MFAIE information (%) Value/ weight of total (%) Formula No. SV Stat 1 A1 A1V= A1*100% / Q1 A2 A2V= A2* 100% / Q2 A3 A3V= A3*100% / Q3 W=(A1V+A2V +A3V) / 3 N*W / 100% Stat 2 B1 B1V= B1*100% / Q1 B2 B2V= B2* 100% / Q2 B3 B3V= B3*100% / Q3 X=(B1V+B2V +B3V) / 3 N*X / 100% Stat 3 C1 C1V= C1*100% / Q1 C2 C2V= C2* 100% / T2 C3 C3V= C3*100% / T3 Y=(C1V+C2V +C3V) / 3 N*Y / 100% Stat n D1 D1V= D1*100% / T1 D2 D2V= D2* 100% / T2 D3 D3V= D3*100% / T3 Z=(D1V+D2V +D3V) / 3 N*Z / 100% Total T1 = A1+ B1+ C1+D1 100% T2 = A2+ B2+ C2+D2 100% T3 = A3+ B3+ C3+D3 100% 100% N where, A1, B1, C1, D1 are the number of overseas voters who participated in the last election in the reference state. T1 is the total number of overseas voters who participated in the last election. A1V, B1V, C1V, D1V represents the value/weight of the number of overseas voters in the reference State in relation to the total number of overseas voters who participated in the last poll. A2, B2, C2, D2 are the number of advance registrations of overseas voters in the reference State. T2 is the total number of advance registrations made by overseas voters in their country of residence. A2V, B2V, C2V, D2V is the value/weight of pre-registrations of overseas voters in the reference State in relation to the total number of pre-registrations. A3, B3, C3, D3 are the number of overseas voters according to the information provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration in the reference state. T3 represents the total number of voters abroad according to the information provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. A3V, B3V, C3V, D3V represents the value/weight of the number of overseas voters in the reference State in relation to the total number of overseas voters according to the information provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. W,X,Y,Z represents the total value/weight of each individual State calculated on the basis of the three (3) criteria. The total value/weight of each individual country is calculated on the basis of the average value of the 3 calculation criteria. The total value/weight will be used to calculate the total number of polling stations to be set up in the state concerned. The value N represents the total number (150) of polling stations abroad to be set up by the Central Election Commission. No.SV (number of polling stations) is the total number of polling stations expected by the Commission to be located abroad in relation to the total value/weight of each state. * If in a given state there are no data based on one of the three criteria, the initial value used for that criterion will be 0. So, for example, in State 1, in the previous poll no polling station was set up and therefore no voters were registered. Therefore, the value assigned to State 1 based on the first criterion - the number of voters who participated in the previous poll held in the national constituency - will be 0." Overseas SV Simulation_2021_139 SV www.alegeliber.md - Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections is a permanent, voluntary entity made up of 35 public organizations in 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), the Council of Europe and its affiliated specialized institutions. [1] (1) the turnout in the previous election, (2) the results of pre-registration and (3) the number and location of citizens entitled to vote abroad, based on information obtained by the MFAEI from the competent authorities of the countries of residence. [2] The calculation formula was proposed by the Promo-LEX Association and taken over by the Association for Participatory Democracy "ADEPT". [3] This algorithm was used by the CEC to determine the number of polling stations abroad for the 2020 presidential elections, and in fact (because the CEC members who voted in favour of the decision totally neglected the algorithm) this algorithm would have been the basis for determining the polling stations for the early parliamentary elections of 11 July 2021.