A number of prominent civil society organizations have expressed their concerns about how Parliament proposed and appointed eight out of nine members to serve on the Central Election Commission.
“Regretfully, information about the nominees was published only this morning (on the legislature's website), and Parliament’s Committee on Legal, Appointment and Immunity Matters approved the list of nominees already later today. We believe the process has lacked transparency. Civil society and the larger public have been deprived of the possibility to observe the process and analyze how the candidates correspond to the criteria set out in the Election Code”, says a statement issued by the NGOs.
The statement's signatories are also concerned that no information has been made available about the CEC member to be appointed by the President.
The signatories urge Parliament, even after the Committee's approval, and the President to hold public consultations and identify candidates for CEC membership in a manner that respects the principle of clarity in proceedings and terms of selecting candidates. Further, sufficient time should be allowed for potential candidates to apply and clear selection requirements should be established. There should also be transparency in the selection process, and civil society should be consulted and involved in both the selection and justification thereof.
Parliament is also asked to exclude any political influence in appointing the CEC president.
The signatory organizations include, among other, Promo-LEX, Dialog-Pro Resource Center, the Legal Resource Center, the Foreign Policy Association, Transparency International-Moldova, the European Policy and Reform Institute, and the Public Policy Institute.
