The Moldovan Diaspora — more informed about parliamentary elections

by Irina Gotisan-Sotnic

On May 11th, the CEC representatives and a group of volunteers went to the Chisinau railway station to talk with the passengers while they were waiting on the platform.

For the people who were on the platform of the Chisinau Railways station on May 11th, their departure was unusual. After they have rummaged their luggages from top to bottom, to be sure that they didn’t forget anything and gave farewell hugs to the ones they love, the passengers dedicated a few moments for a short conversation with the Central Electoral Commission’s (CEC) representatives and a group of volunteers.

The voters found out on the basis of which identity acts can they vote abroad. Also, they were informed regarding voting procedure, explained in details.

The passengers of the train route Chisinau — Moscow have received the Guide for voting abroad which contains general information about the new system and the proceeding how the deputies will be elected in the future Parliament.

The passengers on the platform have received Guide for voting abroad.

The passengers of other international routes (Chisinau — Bucharest, Chisinau — Odessa, Chisinau — Iasi), also, received information regarding voting procedures.

Victoria Andries, waiting for the Chisinau — Moscow train route.

Victoria Andries, while waiting for the train to Moscow, affirmed that she is sure that “this campaign will be useful for the people who will vote abroad next parliamentary elections. People will understand that they have the right to vote and will be able to use it wherever they’ll be during the elections day.”

Ghenadie Rusica, First Deputy Chief of the Moldovan Railways.

“This campaign is useful for people making them understand how to vote, how to elect a candidate for parliamentary elections,” concludes Ghenadie Rusica, first deputy chief of the Moldovan Railways.

This activity, which is targeting the Diaspora, aims to inform citizens established outside the country about where can they find information on voting proceedings, how to check online the correctness of personal data, how to make use of preliminary registration, thus helping to organize better the elections outside the country.

A short video spot about the CEC’s activity at the Chisinau Railways Station.

“The goal pursued by the CEC is to reach every voter. Citizens should be well informed about the new electoral system, the new voting procedures in the parliamentary elections. We want to have informed citizens who are aware of their rights,” says Valentina Scobici, main consultant in the Communication Department of the CEC.

The CEC aims to reach as many citizens as possible so that they are informed and aware of their rights as voters.

This activity is not the only one organized by the CEC to inform citizens who are, temporarily or permanently, established outside the country. During the Easter holidays, the CEC and the Centre for Continuous Electoral Training (CCET), in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, organized an event at the Chisinau International Airport. There, the Moldovan citizens, who crossed the border at that time, received Guide for voting abroad and discussed with the electoral representatives.

On April 17th, the CEC representatives and volunteers were at the Chisinau International Airport and have discussed with the people who have gone abroad.

More than 294 thousand guides were distributed to the most important customs points and the border police employees are sharing them with the citizens who are going abroad, and they will continue to distribute the materials in the upcoming months leading up to the parliamentary elections.

A short video spot about the CEC’s activity at the International Airport Chisinau.

At the embassies and diplomatic missions of the Republic of Moldova information desks will be opened for the Moldovan citizens in order to help them to be well informed for the elections day.

The informative materials on how Moldovan citizens can vote abroad, will be distributed throughout the year, up to the parliamentary elections.

The distribution of the informational materials for the Diaspora at the border checkpoints started in early April 2018 and will continue until the end of May. The next event will take place on May 18th, at the Leuseni-Albita customs point, organized by the representatives of the CEC, CCET and the border police.

The electoral activities, dedicated to Diaspora voters, take place in the framework of a broad electoral information and civic education campaign called “Democracy Matters”, initiated by the CEC and CCET.

The campaign “Democracy matters” will put in action a new activity for the Diaspora on May 18th, at the Leuseni-Albita border checkpoint.

This campaign is part of the project “Enhancing democracy in Moldova through inclusive and transparent elections”, implemented by UNDP Moldova with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the British Embassy in Chisinau through the Good Governance Fund and the Embassy of Netherlands through the Matra Program.