On 29 January, the Promo-LEX Association presented the Final Report of the Election Monitoring Effort for the Parliamentary Elections of 30 November 2014. The document was discussed at a round table attended by representatives of relevant institutions (CEC, Parliament of Moldova, CCA, CNA, etc.), civil society, media, and other partners.
The report covers the performance of the main electoral contenders between 15 September and 9 December 2014. Promo-LEX found that electoral bodies and public administration authorities acted in a balanced manner, and most of the candidates conducted diverse and active campaigns.
Nevertheless, the actions of some candidates and public authorities, and the shortcomings in the electoral legislation, including those pertaining to campaign finances, determined the Monitoring Effort to formulate recommendations aimed to contribute to improving electoral processes and increasing public confidence in free and fair elections.
Thus, the Promo-LEX Association produced 42 recommendations directed at public authorities, electoral contenders, and other relevant actors, to improve the legal framework and electoral procedures. Here are the most relevant recommendations:
- Revision of the mechanism of establishing a ceiling for funds to be spent during an electoral campaign in order to make it more uniform;
- Implementation of a software program to verify the data from the protocols in accordance with the formulas proposed by the CEC in order to rule out accusations of influencing the results of the vote;
- Streamlining the control mechanism for campaign funding and institute a single and uniform mechanism of verification/assessment of undeclared expenses;
- Analysis of deficiencies identified in the functioning of the State Register of Voters (internet connection, technical issues, qualification of operators) and prevent situations when it may be endangered;
- A lawful interpretation of the notions and terms in the Election Code pertaining to setting the date for elections, the start of the electoral period and of the campaign;
- Passing the bill on the political parties and electoral campaign finances in the second (final) reading;
- Revision and approval of gradual sanctions for electoral violations and extend the cases when a candidate could be withdrawn from the race or their registration could be cancelled, with the due explanations;
- For candidates: internal sanctioning of members and supporters who failed to report electoral revenues or expenses or committed other election-related violations.
Click here to see the report.
The Monitoring Effort for the 2014 Parliamentary Election was able to produce its conclusions and recommendations thanks to the involvement and work of 2,325 national observers. The Recommendations have been formulated based on the findings in the 4,241 reports submitted by Promo-LEX observers on the ground, including 2,654 comprehensive visit reports, 543 incident reports, and 1,987 Election Day reports. A team of analysts summarized and analyzed the trends.
The Promo-LEX Association also conducted a Quick Count of the votes and a Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT). The Final Monitoring Report for the 2014 Parliamentary Election was elaborated based on four progress reports presented during the electoral campaign, three reports presented on E-Day, a final report on E-Day, and a report on the monitoring of the candidates’ campaign finances.
The Election Monitoring Effort was part of civil society’s effort under the aegis of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections. The Monitoring Effort for Parliamentary Elections of 30 November 2014 benefits from technical assistance from the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), and is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Council of Europe and the Stefan Batory Foundation from the funds offered by the Solidarity Fund through the “Support for Democracy” Program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. Opinions expressed in this report belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the donors.
For more information, please contact:
Galina Sanduta, Press Officer of the Promo-LEX Monitoring Effort,
GSM: 069-958-289, email: [email protected]