
139 polling stations will be opened abroad for voting in the snap parliamentary elections on July 11, 2021, exactly as in the presidential elections dated November 2020.
At the same time, most of the polling stations are planned to be opened in Italy - 30, Russia - 17, Romania - 13, USA - 12, France - 8, Great Britain - 7. This decision was adopted by the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova (CEC). The Commission noted that it is doing this in accordance with the provisions of the electoral legislation, taking into account the prior notification of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (MFAEI). According to the CEC, polling stations will be established at diplomatic missions and consulates of Moldova, as well as in other localities based on the number of voters who took part in the previous elections organized by the national constituency, on the basis of data due to preliminary registration, as well as the data received by MFAEI from competent authorities of the countries of residence of Moldovan citizens regarding the information on their number and location. The MFAEI was instructed to determine the premises of the polling stations, taking into account the technical requirements established by the regulatory framework, as well as to propose qualified persons as chairpersons of the precinct electoral bureaus to be formed. It should be noted that President Maia Sandu and opposition parties harshly criticized the CEC's decision to open only 139 polling stations abroad for voting in snap parliamentary elections on July 11, 2021, and called for it to be urgently reviewed to open more polling stations. Maia Sandu called the decision of the Central Election Commission a mockery of hundreds of thousands of citizens who want to vote, as well as a demonstrative violation of the law and legal criteria underlying the establishment of the number of polling stations outside the country. According to the head of state, the queues for the presidential elections, the lack of ballots for voting, a large number of pre-registrations clearly showed the need to increase the number of polling stations abroad. It should be noted that initially the head of the Central Election Commission, Dorin Chimil, proposed opening 162 polling stations for voting abroad, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration - 190 polling stations. The PAS party has applied for an increase in the number of polling stations abroad to 198. // 07.06.2021 - InfoMarket