A number of civil society organizations, at the annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, read a statement concerning the modification of the electoral system in the Republic of Moldova. The signatories noted that the electoral system change was made without taking into account the main recommendation of the Venice Commission, which said that the replacement of the party-list proportional representation system by the mixed electoral system in Moldova is not welcome.

According to a press release of Promo-LEX Association, quoted by IPN, the signatory organizations said such a dramatic change in the electoral system should have taken place in strict correlation with the national standards stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and with the international commitments and recommendations of the UN, the Council of Europe/Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR.

“Given that the aforementioned principles and standards were violated, the signatory organizations call on the Moldovan authorities to withdraw the law to amend the electoral system and to restore the proportional representation system,” reads the statement.

The signatories also called upon the representatives of the participating states and other interested sides to recognize and support all the legal approaches made at national level to eliminate the mixed electoral system and restore the proportional representation system, and to monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR, which were formulated in the context of the recently held elections and of the modification of the electoral system.

The statement was signed by: Promo-LEX Association, Institute for Development and Social Initiative “Viitorul”, Legal Resources Center of Moldova, Association of Independent Press, European Institute of Politics and Reforms, Transparency International Moldova, Association for Participatory Democracy and East Europe Foundation.