A group of MPs of the bloc “Victory” (“Pobeda”), which was recently created in Moscow, requested the Constitutional Court to establish the constitutionality of provisions of the law on the partial implementation of postal voting, IPN reports.
The MPs argued that the bill was registered on March 1. On March 21, it was given a first reading, while on April 26, it was given a second reading. According to them, genuine debates and consultations with all the relevant actors prior to the registration of this initiative hadn’t taken place.
“Several formal consultations were held after the registration of the draft, but the main objections regarding the concept of the law were ignored. Only particular amendments relating to technical aspects were accepted. Moreover, contrary to the purpose of the draft law, in defiance of legislative procedures, the Parliament, in the second reading, voted new amendments that go beyond the object of the law, making amendments to and supplementing the Contravention Code and the Electoral Code (on the electoral council of Gagauzia),” said the authors of the application.
According to them, by adopting this law, Parliament flouted the constitutional framework, violating the right to free elections and equality before the law. “By introducing the new alternative voting mechanism only in a few states, based on imprecise criteria, which are not even applied, with total disregard for other states that can fully meet the same criteria and where many citizens of the Republic of Moldova with voting rights live, Parliament violated the fundamental principle of non-discrimination and the equality of all before the law,” said the MPs.
The application was signed by MPs close to fugitive politician Ilan Shor, who was sentenced in Moldova to 15 years in prison, namely: Vasile Bolea, Marina Tauber, Denis Ulanov, Vadim Fotescu, Petru Jardan, Reghina Apostolova, Alexandr Suhodolski, Alexandr Nesterovschi and Irina Lozovan.
The draft law providing for the partial implementation of postal voting was adopted by Parliament in final reading on April 26, and President Maia Sandu recently promulgated the law. The new provisions stipulate criteria for identifying the countries where postal voting is to be implemented. Countries meeting these criteria include the United States of America, Canada, the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Republic of Finland and the Republic of Iceland. Postal voting will not be possible in countries where Moldova does not have diplomatic relations, in countries involved in military conflicts and in countries where international standards regarding free and fair elections are not observed.
