The Promo-LEX OM for the General Local Elections of 5 November 2023 notes a total of 1145 alerts reported by Promo-LEX observers until 24:00. The central team of the Promo-LEX OM processed 718 cases with incident status, of which 191 incidents are included in this release.
Restriction of the observes’ access or obstruction of the free monitoring process in polling station – 5 cases.
PS 1/163 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 21:07, the Promo-LEX observer received from the PEB secretary 2 minutes: one for mayors, with the names of PEB members, but without signatures, and the second for councilors – incomplete minutes (no names/signatures). The purpose of sending the minutes is to complete the election results by a observer during/after counting the ballot papers.
PS 01/145, Chisinau, Centru. At 21:04, the PEB president and secretary surrounded the area of counting unused ballot papers in such a way that the observers and representatives could not monitor the process of counting them. At the request to grant access for observing, it was stated that access will be ensured during the process of counting the votes.
PS 01/70, Chisinau, Botanica. An attempt was made to shoot the process of counting unused ballot papers, but the PEB members prohibited this. The shooting was allowed only when unused ballot papers were punched.
PS 01/12, Chisinau, Botanica. At 20:20, the PEB secretary handed out the model of the vote counting minutes, noting that the results of the totals will be dictated, and everyone will complete their minutes. All the observers objected and returned the minutes with the mention that PEB members are obliged to hand out them filled in. The PEB president made a call to confirm this and then accepted.
PS 1/201 Riscani, Chisinau. The PEB president accused the Promo-LEX observer of taking pictures and video recordings. He mentioned that it’s allowed to take some pictures only with his consent and in his presence.
Discontinuation of the shooting of electoral operations during the voting day – 17 cases.
PS 1/184 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 15:25, the SAIS operator detected that the camera recording the voting process was discharged and it doesn’t load. The problem was solved at 15:34 by changing the power strip.
PS 1/162 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 21:25, the video camera disconnected during the distribution of the ballot papers according to the names of the candidates, the disconnection being caused by battery discharge. The video camera was reconnected in less than a minute.
PS 1/180 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 21:30, after the unsealing of the ballot boxes, the video camera was not fixed to shoot the process of counting the ballot papers. Even at 21:45, the camera still hadn’t turned to the table where the ballot papers were counted.
PS 2/19 Balti. The video camera didn’t work during the whole day, starting at 07:05. The PEB members didn’t draw up an act of finding.
PS 2/59 Balti, Elizaveta. The shooting process was stopped at the time of closing the PS. The bureau members placed the camera on the table for counting the ballot papers, mimicking the shooting process. The STO and other representatives noticed this fact and notified the PEB members. They reacted aggressively and later connected the video camera.
PS 01/12, Chisinau, Botanica. At 21:02, the video camera didn’t record the opening of the first ballot box,. The PEB president began unsealing the ballot box. The video recording was resumed when the votes are counted.
PS 01/145, Chisinau, Centru. When the votes were counted, the video camera was placed approximately at a distance of 2m from the table where the counting of votes takes place.
PS 22/28 Leova, Orac. The video camera doesn’t record the voting process.
PS 22/32 Leova, Sarateni. At 14:40, the observers found that a PEB member was positioned between the ballot box and the video camera, thus obstructing the shooting of the electoral process. While the voters were approaching to put the ballot papers in the box, the woman stood up and pointed with her hand to put the ballot paper. therefore she completely covering the camera view even if the persons are competent to put the vote in the ballot box themselves.
PS 18/12 Floresti, Bahrinesti. The shooting process has been interrupted. Overall, the camera recorded only 24 seconds from the entrance of the Promo-LEX observer.
PS 30/46 Straseni, Vorniceni. The shooting process has been interrupted. The PEB president stated that the camera worked, but it was disconnected because the memory on the SD card ran out.
PS 25/16 Orhei, Berezlogi. The shooting process has been interrupted. The PEB president stated that he only shooted the process of opening the polling station.
PS 7/23 Cahul, Brinza. The voting process was periodically interrupted. The PEB members were instructed to disconnect the camera periodically to avoid running out of SD card memory.
PS 01/68, Chisinau, Botanica. The shooting process was interrupted for unknown reasons, although the video camera was not moved from the place where the process…… This fact was found at 22:04 p.m, not knowing when the shooting was interrupted. Therefore, the stand and the video camera were gathered by SAIS Elections operators, and the PEB members continued the count vote without the registration of the process.
PS 01/25, Chisinau, Botanica. As soon as the unsealing of the ballot boxes began, the video camera was not placed in close proximity to the tables that the PEB members began the process. The camera continued to shoot the place where the ballot boxes had been standing all day. The SAIS operator changed the camera position when the second ballot box was opened. The first hour of vote counting was not recorded.
PS 1/250 Chisinau, Codru. During the punching unused ballots, the video camera turned itself off. After a minute, the camera was turned on again by the SAIS Elections operators.
PS 1/220 Riscani, Chisinau. The camera was switched on from the beginning of the ballot counting process and it was recording. At 23:31 it was noticed that it doesn’t record, A PEB member was informed and he started the recording again.
Unjustified cessation/suspension of voting in the polling station – 1 case.
PS 2/52 Balti. The PEB members and SAIS operators stopped the voting process with the consent of the PEB President for a period of 5 minutes (17:50-17:55), stating that they must report to the CEC. The voters were outside the PS.
Deficiencies in voters’ lists (address discrepancies, deceased voters, signatures instead of others) – 25 cases.
PS 25/25 Ciocilteni, Orhei. The voter was not found in the list and neither in SAIS Elections. He was included in the additional list.
PS 1/195 Riscani, Chisinau. The address of the voter indicated in the identity card didn’t coincide with the address indicated in the electoral lists. He was identified in SAIS Elections and allowed him to vote.
PS 1/109 Buiucani, Chisinau. The voter wasn’t found in the electoral lists, even if the SAIS operator confirmed that he is assigned to this PS. The PEB president and secretary registered the voter in the additional list.
PS 1/80 Buiucani, Chisinau. The voter wasn’t found in the electoral lists, even if he was found in SAIS Elections. The voter was registered in the additional list and he voted.
PS 1/88 Buiucani, Chisinau. The SAIS operators found that the voter wasn’t on the electoral list, but he was registered in SAIS Elections. The PEB president decided to add the voter to the additional list. The voter was able to exercise his right to vote.
PS 1/96 Buiucani, Chisinau. A voter wasn’t found on the electoral list. The voter was included in the additional list with permission to vote.
PS 21/17 Danceni, Ialoveni. The voter wasn’t found in the database. In the identity card he is domiciled in the given locality. Following consultation with the PEB president and data verification, he was included on the additional voting list.
PS 1/215 Riscani, Chisinau. An address was missing from the electoral lists. Thus, some voters were not on the lists. The PEB registered these voters on the additional list. It should be noted that these voters weren’t included in the database of the SAIS operators of another polling station.
PS 1/171 Chisinau, Ciocana. The voter came to vote and saw that her deceased son was inscribed in the electoral lists.
PS 1/157 Chisinau, Ciocana. A voter signed next to another person’s name, the PEB member noticed that she indicated wrongly and the voter quickly signed next to her name as well. Later, in the lists, the PEB president indicated in the notes about committing the given error.
PS 2/38 Balti. At 16:00, according to a voter, the PEB president refused to let her husband vote, because he was not found in the electoral lists and in SAIS Elections. The voter mentions that she consulted with the LPA, who confirmed that her husband can vote in that section.
PS 2/27 Balti. At 18:38 a voter wasn’t found in SAIS Elections and neither in the electoral lists. The voter mentioned that he didn’t make any changes to his residence visa or domicile after 5 August. The PEB president allowed him to vote according to the data from the identity card making a photocopy of the identity card.
PS 2/53 Balti. At 17:12, a voter made a mistake in the electoral list, signing in a different column. The PEB members drew up the act of findings.
PS 2/39 Balti. At 18.10 a voter wasn’t found in the basic electoral lists, having restrictions related to art. 160 of the Electoral Code. She states that she didn’t make any changes to her residence visa or domicile after 5 August. Following consultations, the PEB president allowed her to vote, being included in the additional list.
PS 2/60 Balti, Sadovoe. At 17:36 a voter wasn’t found in the electoral lists. The voter didn’t make any changes to the residence or domicile visa (after 5 August). The voter voted based on the additional lists, according to the data from the identity card.
PS 2/60 Balti, Sadovoe. At 17:32, the PEB secretary cast his vote based on the additional lists, according to the data from the identity card. Although he has a residence visa in the locality, he is not included in the basic electoral lists.
PS 2/39 Balti. At 16:22, two voters weren’t found in the basic electoral lists. One of the voters had restrictions related to art. 160 of the EC. They state that they haven’t made any changes to their residence visa or domicile after 5 August. Following the consultations, the PEB president allowed them to vote, being included in the additional lists.
PS 1/ 152 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 20:50, a voter was observed who signed in a column other than the one intended for signature, but next to her name. At the time of the finding, the voter wasn’t present. The PEB member drew an arrow from the column where the signature is to the column where it should be.
PS 26/15, Rezina, Ghiduleni. A deceased voter (in Italy ) was identified as being included in the electoral lists. The PEB president knew about the mentioned situation.
PS 01/12, Chisinau, Botanica. A voter, identified by operators in SAIS Elections with the right to vote at the respective PS, he was not found in the basic electoral lists. As a result, he voted on the additional lists.
PS 01/66, Chisinau, Botanica. According to the address on the identity documents within the PS radius, a voter wasn’t found in the basic electoral lists. The PEB president allowed him to vote on the additional lists.
PS 01/116, Chisinau, Centru. Two voters from the same address approached SAIS Elections operators. It was found that one of the persons was assigned to another PS. The person communicated that he had the same problem in the previous elections, after which he left the PS.
PS 01/145, Chisinau, Centru. Two voters were found in SAIS Elections, but they were not included in the basic electoral lists. They voted on the additional lists.
PS 01/130, Chisinau, Centru. During the day, a voter signed in the electoral list with a lower position than the one next to his name. At 20:15, the voter came to whom signed the voter during the day came. The PEB president stated that he can sign in place of the voter who made the wrong position during the day.
PS 01/116, Chisinau, Centru. A voter presented the identity card to the SAIS Elections operator. It found that the address in the bulletin is different from the address that is in SAIS Elections. The PEB president allowed the inclusion of the voter on the additional lists, because the address from the identity card didn’t correspond to PS.
Photographing of ballots, other violations of voting secrecy (presentation of the ballot paper with the cast vote, faulty location of the voting booths that allow the voter’s option to be viewed, etc.) – cases – 35 cases.
PS 25/23 Chiperceni, Orhei. The voter took a picture of the ballot papers in the voting booth. The president of the polling station reported and requested the voter to delete the pictures from the phone. He checked and the pictures were permanently deleted from the phone.
PS 25/81 Viscauti, Orhei. A voter took a photo of the ballot. The PEB members interfered, the voter was asked to delete the picture.
PS 1/220 Riscani, Chisinau. A voter took a picture of the ballot paper. A PEB member and the PEB president made observations.
PS 1/226 Riscani, Chisinau. A voter took a photo of the ballot paper. The PEB members did not notice.
PS 1/75 Buiucani, Chisinau. A voter shooted the ballot paper in the voting booth. The PEB president noticed the incident, he approached and requested to delete the video materials.
PS 1/74 Buiucani, Chisinau. At 18:00 a voter took a photo of the ballot paper. The PEB member warned the voter.
PS 1/105 Buiucani, Chisinau. A voter took a picture of the ballot paper in the voting booth. The PEB president interfered and the picture was deleted from the phone.
PS 1/79 Buiucani, Chisinau. A voter asked the PEB president if the vote he cast would be considered valid, showing the ballot to the PEB president, so that the voting option of the voter is visible. The PEB president didn’t react. The voter inserted the ballot paper into the ballot box.
PS 1/87 Buiucani, Chisinau. The voter took a picture of the ballot paper after applying the stamp on the ballot paper, being in the voting booth. The PEB members did not notice the incident because the voter was hiding.
PS 8/34 Cantemir, Pleseni. A voter was observed taking a photo of his ballot paper before inserting it into the ballot box. The PEB president made a remark to him.
PS 1/149 Chisinau, Ciocana. A voter with the minor child took a picture the ballot paper. The PEB president made a remark to them, but they did not give up. When the PEB members warned them about the possibility of calling the police, did they comply.
PS 1/149 Chisinau, Ciocana. “Where’s the party…?” the voter consulted with someone at the phone. The PEB representative interfered and informed him about the removal of a party from the race. Later, the voter asked if he could vote “against everyone”. That person also assisted a person with disability.
PS 1/162 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 16:04, on the premisesinof the PS, a person came out of the voting booth, and when her son was supposed to enter, that person loudly told him to vote for a certain competitor. The PEB members did not make any comments in this regard.
PS 1/182 Chisinau, Ciocana. Between 15:00 and 15:10 in the voting booth, a voter took a photo of her ballot paper. Being informed by the PEB president, he forced the person to delete the photos taken.
PS 2/11 Balti. At 6:07 p.m., a voter attempted to take a photo of the ballot paper, being stopped by a PEB member.
PS 2/35 Balti. At 18:19 a voter attempted to take a photo of the ballot paper. The PEB president noticed him and took over his phone for the voting period. After this, the president returned the voter’s phone.
PS 2/53 Balti. At 18:15 a voter took a photo of the ballot paper. The PEB president noticed this and requested the voter to delete the photo from the phone. The voter deleted the picture in the presence of the president and later allowed him to vote.
PS 2/57 Balti. At 17:47 a voter took a photo of the ballot paper. This was noticed by PEB members who noticed him and requested to delete the photo. At the observation, the voter reacted with the expression “Pretend I deleted it”, he put the ballot paper in the ballot box and left the PS. The PEB president did not take any other measures.
PS 2/57 Balti. At 17:39, a voter tried to take a photo of the ballot paper, but she was stopped by the PEB member, who made a remark. She was allowed to vote.
PS 2/30 Balti. At 19:52 a voter came to the polling station in a drunken state and he wanted to call and take a photo of the ballot paper. The PEB president approached to him and explained that it was not allowed.
PS 2/35 Balti. At 20:33, two voters (probably a couple) attempted to photograph the ballot paper, which was stopped by the PEB president. Both exercised their vote and left the PS. No other sanctions were applied.
PS 2/57 Balti. At 20:58, a voter tried to take a photo of the ballot paper, but she was stopped by the PEB president. The president requested that the voter present her phone with photos, after which she was allowed to vote.
PS 36/17 ATUG, Ceadir-Lunga. At 17:03, a voter attempted to take a photo of the ballot paper. He was noticed by a PEB member who made a remark. She threw the ballot into the ballot box and quickly left the PS.
PS 1/164 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 18:58 a voter started taking photos of the ballot paper. The president of PEB made a remark, and the voter replied that “its his business”, he put the ballot paper in the ballot box and left the polling station.
PS 1/159 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 16>15 a voter entered in the voting booth, after putting the stamp he took out his phone and took a picture. After the intervention of the PEB member, the voter only argued that he looked at the time.
PS 36/17 ATUG, Ceadir-Lunga. At 17:03 p.m., a voter attempted to take a photo of the ballot paper. This was noticed by a PEB member, who pointed it out. She threw the ballot into the ballot box and quickly left the PS.
PS 28/58, Singerei, Radoaia. A voter took a photo of the ballot paper, and he was noticed only by one of the SAIS Elections operators, who, however, did not communicate about this.
PS 28/58, Singerei, Radoaia. A voter took a photo of the ballot. No PEB member noticed that case.
PS 01/114, Chisinau, Centru. A voter took a photo of the ballot paper. At the request of PEB members, he communicated that he would have deleted the picture.
PS 18/53, Floresti, Putinesti. A voter took a photo the ballot paper in the voting booth. The PEB president was notified and he took action and requested that the picture be deleted.
PS 20/2 Hincesti, Hincesti. A bright flash was seen in the voting booth, which confirms that the voter took a picture of the ballot paper.
PS 25/60 Orhei, Pohorniceni. The representative of a competitor drew up 3 lists of voters who cast their vote. She mentioned that she makes the lists for “statistics”.
PS 22/32 Leova, Sarateni. The Promo-LEX observers found that the representative of a political party wrote down in her personal book the names and surnames of the voters who came to vote.
PS 27/4 Riscani, Riscani. Two voters without visual impairment or other justified reason were in the same voting booth.
PS 36/52 ATUG, Congazcicul De Sus. An elderly man took a photo of his ballot paper.
Undistributed ballots to PEB members are not kept in a safe/closet inside the polling station – 3 cases.
PS 01/116, Chisinau, Centru. At 20:20, the PEB president took all the ballot papers not distributed to PEB members out of the safe. She counted them and arranged them on a PS table without putting them back in the safe.
PS 21/18 Ialoveni, Gangura. Undistributed ballots are not kept in the safe, but sit on the table behind the PEB members.
PS 25/16 Orhei, Berezlogi. The undistributed ballots by PEB members are not kept in a safe or cabinet inside the polling station, but in the next room on a table. The door to the next room is right next to the PEB president’s desk.
Rumors, attempts or even situations of material or monetary rewards offered to voters in the 100 m perimeter of the polling station to determine the voters’ vote – 2 cases.
PS 15/3, Dubasari, Corjova. There are rumors among voters that money was being offered for voting. Some voters, addressed an independent candidate after voting for the position of district councilor, requesting details about the location where they can pick up the money. In one case, the candidate was observed driving a voter near the PS where a woman was waiting for him, who took the said voter with her. From discussions with other people, it has been established that the woman is the independent candidate’s grandmother. During the day, the candidate was often observed in front of the PS, with a periodicity of no more than 10 minutes, when she discusses something with “the people”, who then come to vote.
PS 4/41 Anenii Noi, Zolotievca. At 14:40 when they arrived at PS, the observers noticed that every voter who exercised his right to vote was taking the same route to the pub in the village. They approached the place and from what they heard the voters were receiving the reward in the form of alcohol and monetary resources, they also noticed the presence of the city hall officials as well as the current mayor. The pub is located less than 100 meters away. According to the PEB president, this is the only pub in the village and people spend their Sundays in this way.
Ballot boxes were not sealed according to legal procedures/ broken/damaged or missing seals on ballot boxes – 3 cases.
PS 2/17 Balti. The PEB president applied 2 seals to the mobile ballot box, sealing also the space where the ballots must be inserted. After the return of the PEB members who were with the mobile ballot box, at 15:33 a seal was removed from the place where it was incorrectly placed.
PS 01/62, Chisinau, Botanica. During the day, one of the four seals applied to the stationary ballot box was unintentionally damaged by voters. The president of PEB did not notice this.
PS 21/18 Ialoveni, Gangura. The stationary ballot box was sealed with 2 seals.
Unjustified voting in a group (there are 2 or more people in voting booths) or when one and the same person assists voters several times who cannot fill in the ballots themselves – 20 cases.
PS 25/23 Chiperceni, Orhei. Two people voted in the same voting booth. They did not comply with the observations of PEB members.
PS 1/239 Riscani, Chisinau. While one voter was in the voting booth, another voter approached and indicated who to vote for.
PS 1/201 Riscani, Chisinau. Two voters voted in the same voting booth. The PEB members warned the voters.
PS 1/222 Riscani, Chisinau. Two voters entered the same voting booth and one of them stamped both ballot papers (both his and the other voter’s). The PEB members did not react to the incident.
PS 1/100 Buiucani, Chisinau. At around 17:40 the group voting of 2 voters (elderly) took place. When the PEB president was notified, the voters opposed, they continued to vote in groups. In a short time, one of the voters tried to leave the institution without inserting the ballot paper into the stationary ballot box. The PEB members blocked access to the exit, after which both voters were again together in the voting booth. One of them went to the ballot box, and the other voter took the ballot from his hand, inserting the vote stamp by himself on 2 ballot papers. In all circumstances the PEB members tried to limit them from committing violations, but without success.
PS 1/101 Buiucani, Chisinau. Two voters (members of a family) voted in the same voting booth. They did not react to the observations of the PEB members.
PS 1/283 Chisinau, Ciorescu. At 11:00, in the same voting booth, the mother assisted by her daughter voted (mother being visually impaired). The daughter gave both the mother and the neighbor accurate clues as to who to vote for. The president of PEB interfered and forbade the entry of 2 people into the ballot box, but the latter did not comply.
PS 1/161, Chisinau, Ciocana. At 17:22, two voters and a child entered the polling station to exercise their right to vote. One of the voters, after voting, went to the voting booth, where the other woman was with the child, indicating who to vote for. A PEB member reported himself, warning the voter about the restrictions in the PS premises. She moved away from the booth, leaving the voter with the child to vote.
PS 1/152 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 16:32, a voter tried several times to ask other people from other voting booths something. The PEB members noticed that she was disturbing the other voters, but the woman continued the same behavior. She then went into his voting booth and cast her vote.
PS 1/185 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 16:00, two people entered the voting booth, none of them seemed to need assistance. People voted and left, and the PEB members had no reaction.
PS 1/189 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 14:30, a mother and her daughter (49 years old) came to the polling station to vote. Visibly, none of them had special needs to be assisted. Taking their ballot papers, both voted in different booths. The mother came out 1 min away after her daughter. After which, in a few seconds, her mother returns with the ballot paper for councilors in her hand and went straight to the voting booth, where she applied the stamp voted for a political party and folded it, wanting to put it in the ballot box. Being observed, she communicated that her daughter has mental disabilities, cannot read and write and left with a ballot paper in her short pocket (the ballot for councilors) and she decided to apply the stamp instead of her daughter. The ballot has been cancelled.
PS 2/46 Balti. At 18:36, two voters attempted to vote in a group. On the observation of the PEB members, they moved to different voting booths.
PS 7/3 Cahul. At 17:56 two voters (mother and daughter) voted in separate booths, but for 20-30 seconds they were in the same booth. The PEB members did not comment on the incident. The persons were not visually impaired.
PS 1/158 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 18:38, 2 voters, even if they were in different voting booths, consulted each other during the voting process. One of them was observed moving to the other in the cabin for discussions. After the intervention of the PEB deputy president, voters exercised their right to vote without consultations, in separate booths.
PS 1/174 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 19:29, two voters, who were in separate voting booths, consulted each other during the voting process, including showing each other the chosen option. After a PEB member warned them, they continued to vote without further discussion.
PS 1/162 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 20.30 two voters, father and son, went to the same voting booth. After the PEB member interfered, voters exercised their right to vote in different booths.
PS 1/174 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 17:40, 2 people were communicating with each other while filling in the ballot papers. The PEB member warned them, after which the voters inserted ballot papers into the ballot box.
PS 1/154 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 18:08 a voter, after voting, approached another voter and showed her how to vote. The PEB president did not make any remarks.
PS 18/53, Floresti, Putinesti. There were two people in the voting booth, explaining that they cannot fill in the ballot papers themselves. The PEB president made a remark to them, they complied and voted separately.
PS 24/5 Ocnita, Otaci. Two voters were simultaneously in the same voting booth for no reason. The reaction of PEB members was lacking.
Presence of advertising materials, posters, electoral boards within the radius of the polling station (100 meters from the station) – 1 case.
PS 25/23 Chiperceni, Orhei. Within 100 m of the polling station, a tractor is parked in front of the city hall on which a competitor’s flyer is stuck.
Interruption during the voting day of the filming process – 3 cases.
PS 35/57 Petresti, Ungheni. It was detected at 18:03 that the shooting process was stopped because the camera’s memory is loaded.
PS 1/198 Riscani, Chisinau. At 15:15 it was observed that the camera was disconnected. Following the notification by the observer to the PEB secretary, the operator checked the camera and started the recording.
PS 1/288 Chisinau, Colonita. Between 11:25-11:35 the shooting process was stopped for technical reasons. The problem has been fixed.
Acts of violence or intimidation of voters or other persons – 9 cases.
PS 1/224 Riscani, Chisinau. Two voters who came together to the PS were very indignant that one of them was not on the electoral lists. One of them insulted the PEB president and the operators.
PS 1/198 Riscani, Chisinau. An aggressive voter insulted the PEB members, representatives and observers, because it was difficult to find PS.
PS 2/30 Balti. At 19:06 a voter started insulting the PEB members, because the daughter (24-25 years old), after the marriage, was supposed to appear at the section where she had the new residence visa, but she was redirected to the old one – PS 2/30. The voter was indignant, because his daughter was not identified by the PEB members in this section either.
PS 2/31 Balti. At 19>20 a voter behaved aggressively and inappropriately. The PEB president allowed him to exercise his vote and after that he called the police. That person was escorted by the police at 19:30. Until 8:20 p.m., the policeman was present in the police station, who was drawing up the minutes together with the PEB president.
PS 2/25 Balti. At 19:40, the representative of an independent candidate videotaped the PEB president talking on the phone with someone about the incident that took place at 17:43. The PEB members pointed out to him that he is not allowed to record video. The representative called her lawyer (a third party who is not authorized to be in the polling station) and the police. They retired to another room to talk.
PS 2/44 Balti. At 20:00 a voter presented himself with a temporary identity card. The PEB president forbade him to vote due to the restrictions of art. 160 of the Electoral Code. Later, at 20:50, the voter came again with an American passport and was again denied the vote. The voter behaved aggressively and insulted those present.
PS 1/151 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 20:15, a voter, after registering with the SAIS operators to vote, caused a scandal in the PS, as soon as she examined the electoral list, in which she should have signed to receive the ballot paper. The reason for the trouble was that one of his sons, by mistake, would have signed instead of the second son, who would be in Amsterdam. The voter blamed the PEB members for the mistake committed. After several attempts to clarify the situation and calm the person in question, the PEB president called the district police officer, who escorted her out of the PS. The voter did not exercise her right to vote.
PS 2/59 Balti, Elizaveta. At 21:10, after the observer alerted the PEB members about the non-functioning of the video camera, the PEB members reacted with aggressive behavior, calling the observers obscene words.
PS 01/32, Chisinau, Botanica. A voter, presumed to be drunk, voted and then tore up the ballot paper in front of those present in the premises of PS, after which he inserted the ballot paper into the ballot box. The president of PEB called the police and filed a complaint, and the police officer drew up a report.
Electoral campaigning or adverse promotion in the 100 m perimeter and/or in the polling station to influence voters’ choice – 2 cases.
PS 1/242 Riscani, Chisinau. At 15:56, a voter came to the PS and protested as if she had been called by someone in order to convince her to go to the polls and to vote for a certain competitor because another one is removed from the race.
PS 1/79 Buiucani, Chisinau. A voter entered the polling station with an advertising material, demonstratively showing it to the people in the station (observers and party representatives), upon the PEB member’s request to hide the material, he complied.
Rumors, attempts or even situations of material or monetary rewards offered to voters in the 100 m perimeter of the polling station to determine the voters’ vote – 3 cases.
PS 1/87 Buiucani, Chisinau. It was observed how one person handed another person who came out of the polling station €50, while they were talking about political parties.
PS 1/161 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 15:48, a voter wanted to cast his vote without registering at SAIS Elections, without offering the ballot paper to be registered. The PEB president explained to him the procedure for voting, but the given voter did not want to comply and caused agitation in the PS. The PEB president called the police, while another member of PEB tried to explain the correct procedure to the person. Later, when the police officer arrived at the PS, the person calmed down and voluntarily left the PS.
PS 01/46, Chisinau, Botanica. In the premises of the PS, a representative of a competitor has conversations on Viber with the following content: ” ok, there are… some of ours that will come ” … “look for results at 16:00″ … ” 500+6 are ours “.
Unjustified presence of unauthorized persons in the polling station or within 100 m – 14 cases.
PS 12/23 Izbeste, Criuleni. At 16:20, within 100 m of the PS, a group of young people, where there was also a person appearing in the ballot paper for local councilors from a party, stayed longer than necessary. The PEB president was notified about this fact. The President intervened by making an observation to them, but without any results. Finally, the PEB president informed the representative of the security forces and took measures.
PS 1/208 Riscani, Chisinau. In the PS premises after 21:00 when the doors were supposed to be closed and no third parties were to be in the room, the policeman is present in the voting hall.
PS 4/34 Anenii Noi, Speia. At 14.57 near the PS, at a distance of less than 100 m, there were candidates for the position of mayor and local councilors. At the warning of the PEB president, they only moved a little away from the polling station. The president called the police to remove the incident. The police intervened quickly, and the unauthorized persons left there.
PS 34/26 Telenesti, Mindresti. At 16:40, a voter entered and raised his voice and said some unclear phrases. He did not intend to vote, noting that he came to see the PEB members and observers. The PEB president intervened asking him to come out.
PS 16/43 Edinet, Ruseni. At approximately 12:30 a car was observed to be within 10 m of the PS and parked for several hours. At approximately 16:55 it was observed that the driver was talking to the PR representative. Later, the driver moved away from PS, at a distance of about 50-60m.
PS 1/167 Chisinau, Ciocana. At approximately 19:28, a person entered the polling station 3 times, with 3 different people. Based on the statements of the SAIS operators and the PEB president, that person was waiting for each voter who entered into the booth. The PEB president asked him for an explanation and the people left, the man stating that the accompanied people were “his children”.
PS 1/157 Chisinau, Ciocana. At 18.21, an elderly woman entered the polling station, who said that she only came “only to look for”, presenting herself as an observer. There was a woman at the gate who recorded the number of people entering. When asked who she is, she replied that she was from a candidate and was directing people to the polling station.
PS 28/21, Singerei, Chiscareni. Near the PS, a candidate for mayor was observed talking with other people. The discussions lasted around 20 minutes.
PS 28/29, Singerei, Coscodeni. A representative from the District Council with a voter, entered the PS at 12:40 and sent a message of congratulations and thanks to the PEB members for the work they are doing today. After 3-4 minutes, they left the PS premises.
PS 28/4, Singerei. The candidate designated by a political party for the position of councilor, entered the PS already for the second time, and at 15:23 he sat down on the chair. The PEB president asked him to do a research, and as a result of the identification that he is not authorized to be in the premises of the PS, he was asked to leave the PS.
PS 01/47, Chisinau, Botanica. In the premises of the PS, for 20 minutes, there was an unauthorized person – a friend of one of the PEB members. They discussed, checked the information from the phones. After several notifications to the PEB president and secretary, the mentioned person left the PS.
PS 28/2, Singerei. During the day, the candidate of a political party for the position of city councilor, was all day in the premises of the PS and observed the voting process, being considered by the PEB members as a representative of the electoral competitor. At the end of the day, it was found that at the time of the presentation in the PS premises at the beginning of the day, the PEB members did not check her documents that would prove her right to be present during the day in the PS – documents that the candidate did not have. At the end of the day, she was spotted chatting near the PS with a deputy.
PS 25/21 Orhei, Braviceni. Within 100 m of the PS there are 3-4 groups of 4-5 people conversing in the group.
PS 01/126, Chisinau, Centru. The police officer was in the PEB premises starting with the closing of the PS and during the vote counting process the deputat members did not react in any way.
Organized transport of voters (coaches, minibuses or other transport units that would not normally be around) – 2 cases.
PS 16/43 Edinet, Ruseni. Two minibuses were observed twice near the polling station: Once during the day, and the second time – at 20.50. The driver left the location after the observer’s remarks.
PS 5/4 Basarabeasca, Basarabeasca. The wife of the former president of the district brought two voters with her personal vehicle, who later went directly to the polling station. (The observer does not know if the voters in question are related/acquainted with the woman).
Deficiencies in the operation of SAIS Elections (suspension of operation; situations when SAIS Elections indicates that the voter voted, and he claims that he did not vote) – 9 cases.
PS 1/198 Riscani, Chisinau. When counting voters from the lists, the PEB members found that 8 fewer people are registered in SAIS Elections than in the lists. Members assume that this happened due to the inattention of the trial participants or due to some Internet connection errors, because such errors persisted in the first part of the day. The PEB members search for unregistered voters in the personal identification number database and register them.
PS 1/246 Chisinau, Codru. When checking in SAIS Elections, a voter was going to vote in another PS. Upon proof of residence within the scope of this PS, the voter voted on the additional lists.
PS 1/273 Chisinau, Bacioi. A voter presented himself at the PS who, following the verification in SAIS Elections, had a special status. After calling the CEC hotline, the voter was included in the additional list. In the period 1996-2023 he was declared deceased, and from February 2023 he had completed a new identity document.
PS 1/149 Chisinau, Ciocana. Addresses registered differently, in the SAIS Elections system, the voter having a different address than the one indicated on the identity card sheet. The PEB secretary offered the opportunity to write his address on the sheet and be included in the additional lists. The person refused and left without voting.
PS 1/175 Chisinau, Ciocana. The operation of SAIS Elections was suspended between 14:12 and 14:17. The incident was caused by the electrical current settling at the outlet that fed the laptop and the server. The problem was fixed in a short time.
PS 2/40 Balti. At 18.10 a voter came to the polling station, but SAIS Elections resulted her old address of residence and her current address is at the polling station where she presented herself. After clarifying by phone, the president allowed her to vote.
PS 2/25 Balti. At 17.43 a voter was not found in SAIS Elections and neither the electoral lists. The voter mentioned that he changed his residence visa, within Balti municipality, after 5 August. Following the consultations, the PEB president allowed the voter to vote based on the additional lists, a copy of the identity card being made.
PS 01/33, Chisinau, Botanica. Two voters, husband and wife, who previously voted at the same PS, having the same address and data in their identity documents, approached the PS to vote. The husband was identified in SAIS Elections and the basic electoral lists, but the wife was missing from both. As a result, the husband voted and the wife did not.
PS 30/45 Straseni, Vorniceni. Two voters, husband and wife, were on different electoral lists, having to vote at different polling stations.
Incidents in the process of closing the PS and counting the votes – 20 cases.
PS 1/198 Riscani, Chisinau. After the polling station was declared closed, the PEB unsealed the ballot boxes and turned them over on a table to count the votes, but did not change the camera to record the vote counting process.
PS 1/293 Gratiesti, Chisinau. A party representative returned to PS at 21:31, the door being locked because the PEB members were already counting the ballots. The president of PEB allowed him to enter.
PS 1/293 Gratiesti, Chisinau. The police officer assists in the ballot counting process.
PS 1/208 Riscani, Chisinau. Starting at 9:00 p.m., the police is in the polling station.
PS 25/45 Malaiesti, Orhei. On November 4, and respectively on election day, the observer asked the president about the number of applications for voting at home, being informed that it was 11, and when the mobile ballot box was unsealed, there were 12 ballots.
PS 1/107 Buiucani, Chisinau. In the premises of the PS, at 21:00 after the closure of the PS, two unauthorized persons were observed arranging the furniture and assisting in the process of unsealing the ballot boxes. The PEB president explained that these people are the guards of the educational institution where the PS is located.
PS 25/6 Orhei, Orhei. After the polling station was closed, the video surveillance camera was turned off because it no longer has memory. Accordingly, CECE II was called, it was announced that the surveillance camera was not working, and consent was given to start the vote counting process.
PS 1/107 Buiucani, Chisinau. The PEB secretary requested that the observers and representatives of the competitors participate in the process of counting the ballots, reasoning that they will complete it faster. 3 people accepted the request and participated in the trial.
PS 35/57 Petresti, Ungheni. When the ballot boxes were unsealed, the video camera was taken and the counting process is not recorded.
PS 01/126, Chisinau, Centru. The police officer was in the PEB premises starting with the closing of the PS and during the vote counting process. The PEB members did not react in any way.
PS 31/02 Soldanesti, Soldanesti. Starting at 21:29, the electricity was disconnected in PS, but not in other rooms of the building, where PS was located. By 10:31. the electricity had not been restored. The counting of ballots began at 10:04. The lamps were brought to the aid of PEB members. The camera did not disconnect, when the power went out, it continues to work. The act of finding wasn’t drawn up. The reason for the disconnection is unknown.
PS 25/23 Chiperceni, Orhei. After the closing of the polling station at 21:00, after the unused ballots were counted, some incidents occurred. The ballot papers for district councilors, 2 ballots were not enough. When the ballot boxes were opened, these 2 ballot papers were found in the ballot box.
PS 1/79 Buiucani, Chisinau. Starting at 22:30, within 20 minutes, the representatives of the political parties (RP and MDCP) got involved in distributing the ballot papers. The PEB members did not comment on them.
PS 01/56, Chisinau, Botanica. At 21:50, when the stationary ballot boxes were unsealed and the process of counting the votes started, the mobile ballot box was not unsealed and remained on the same place all day after returning from the territory. The PEB members did not notice this.
PS 01/115, Chisinau, Centru. The PS was closed at 21:00. At 21:18, the PEB president was called by someone saying that a representative of a competitor is requesting entry into the PS after its closing. At the CEC’s direction, the PEB members voted for his admission to the PS. Therefore, the PS door was reopened.
PS 1/185 Chisinau, Ciocana. 2 PEB members at 22:46 took part of the ballot papers for local councilors and counted them out of sight of the video camera.
PS 01/56, Chisinau, Botanica. The mobile ballot box was practically unsealed after the end of the vote counting process. Earlier, when the stationary ballot boxes were unsealed and the counting process was started, the mobile ballot box was not unsealed and remained on the same place the whole day after returning from the territory. The PEB members did not notice this.
PS 01/131, Chisinau, Centru. The process of counting votes was assisted by an unauthorized person who turned out to be a driver. During the voting day, he periodically entered and left the PS premises.
PS 1/293 Chisinau, Gratiesti. 2 men knocked on the door half an hour after the polling station was closed (at 21:00), one of whom was a representative of a competitor, who left PS around 16-17. They insisted on access to the polling station. After a call the president allowed the representative to enter. After 10 minutes, acquaintances of the observer came and behaved inappropriately, they were shouting, pounding on the door to open it. A police car was called by the police and arrived within 40-50 minutes. After the arrival of the police the situation improved, but the observer who remained in the polling station. HE called and wrote to the men with inappropriate behavior who were at the school gates.
PS 1/223 Riscani, Chisinau. When the PEB member sees that the vote has been applied on the first page of the brochure, he does not even check whether it is valid or not. He does not open the brochure to look further, and puts them all in a pile. The ballots were counted by another person nearby, but they remained unverified, they were only counted (499). Neither did the president check the number of votes.
Problematic situations regarding the use of ballot papers contrary to voting procedures – 8 cases
PS 25/23 Chiperceni, Orhei. A voter, going to the voting booth to cast his secret ballot, spotted a ballot paper, left in the vooting booth and notified the election officials that he had spotted a ballot. A member of the polling station inserted the ballot into the ballot box.
PS 1/102 Buiucani, Chisinau. At 17:40 a voter received the ballots for the mayor and councilor, and after voting she put only the ballot paper for the mayor in the ballot box, two members of PEB claim that they saw how she put the ballot vote for councilors in the personal bag. The voter denied this fact. The PEB members wanted to call the police who are on duty at the polling station, but this were not there. Finally she was granted a new ballot vote for councilors,. The voter voted and left.
PS 1/79 Buiucani, Chisinau. At 20:40 the PEB members have already started to count the unused ballots. Several unallocated ballots are not in the safe, but on the table, next to the president,. The seals are also counted, i.e. those that have not been applied to the ballot boxes. In the involvement of another PEB member, those who were counting, stopped the counting activity. The president of PEB did not intervene.
PS 21/16 Costesti, Ialoveni. After voting with the mobile ballot box, only 5 out of 7 voters voted. The PEB operators, by mistake, entered all 7 in SAIS Elections. The minutes were drawn up. Upon the tabulation of votes, the mistake committed will be taken into account, to exclude these 2 voters from the centralization of voting.
PS 1/198 Riscani, Chisinau. A voter tried to leave the PS with the ballot papers. He was stopped by the PEB secretary.
PS 1/293 Chisinau, Gratiesti. A voter forgot the ballot papers in the voting booth. The president took them out and put them in the ballot box.
PS 01/63, Chisinau, Botanica. A voter, after registering and taking the ballot papers, in an attempt to remove the ballots from the PS, turned and began to run from the polling station with the ballots. At the same time, SAIS Elections operators and 2 representatives ran after him. They had caught up and brought him back to the station, where the situation to be clarified. The police were also called on the spot.
PS 19/33 Glodeni, Sturzovca. In the voting booth were identified unused ballots. The president of PEB must draw up a protocol for canceling the ballots.
Voting based on non-compliant identity documents – 3 cases.
PS 2/52, Balti. At 18.43, a voter presented himself at the PS with his driver’s license and ID supplementary sheet. Following the consultations, at 18:47, PEB members allowed him to vote based on the documents presented.
PS 2/52, Balti. At 18.29, SAIS operators registered the voter based on the driver’s license. The PEB members forbade her to vote, but after consultations, they allowed her to vote based on the driver’s license, she presented the photo of the identity card on the phone.
PS 1/244 Riscani, Chisinau. One voter was only allowed to vote with a photo ID card on the phone.
Other – 6 cases.
PS 1/212 Riscani, Chisinau. A case was detected where a person voted 2 times. On 3 November , this person from Chisinau, being admitted to the „Sfanta Treime” hospital, submitted a request that he would like to vote at the place of his stay. In the morning he voted at the polling station where he had the residence. When the members of the electoral office went with the mobile ballot box to the address of the request, the voter did not admit that he had voted before today. It was detected in the evening, when the operators were entering the data from the identity card into the system. A report has been written on this case.
PS 2/27 Balti. At 18:02 a voter had many complaints, which were intended for state institutions, from the city hall to the presidency, and he wanted to put them in the ballot box, in order to reach the destination. The president explained to him that he is not allowed and convinced him to submit them to the city hall. He entered the voting booth and he stayed for 11 minutes and wrote with a pen on them.
PS 2/34 Balti. At 19.15, a voter, being in the voting booth, was having a telephone conversation. At the observation made by the PEB president, the person displayed aggressive behavior. In the end, the person calmed down and he expressed his vote and left.
PS 01/121, Chisinau, Centru. SAIS Elections operators communicated that while the PEB members were at Penitentiary no. 13 for the detainees to express their right to vote, it was found that 5 people had residence visas in Chisinau or Chisinau municipality, but they had restrictions according to art. 160 of the Electoral Code. Likewise, a person voted with an identity card, without a personal identification number. These people voted, but were not entered in SAIS Elections.
PS 7/57 Cahul, Taraclia de Salcie. A PEB member was excluded from PEB, because he is related to an electoral competitor.
PS 1/280 Chisinau, Budesti. The ballots were found without the “Withdrawn” stamp in the right of a candidate. However, they had the stamp voted for another candidate. The ballots given have been cancelled.
The release is drafted within the Observation Mission for the General Local Elections of 5 November 2023, carried out by the Promo-LEX Association with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Program “Democracy, Transparency and Responsibility” and of the European Union through the Project “Strengthening the electoral legislative framework and assessing its implementation during the general local elections in 2023”.
The opinions expressed in the reports and public releases of the Promo-LEX OM belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the point of view of financiers or partners. The content hereof may be subject to editorial revisions.
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