MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th February, 2019) Moldovan citizens will cast their ballots on Sunday to elect the members of the country's parliament.
In accordance with the constitution of Moldova, which was adopted in 1994, the parliament is the highest representative and legislative body in the country. It has 101 seats.
Any Moldovan citizen who has the right to vote and has reached the age of 18 on the election day is eligible to vote and can be elected to the parliament.
The Moldovan parliament is elected every four years through a universal, equal, direct, secret and free vote.
Elections are held according to a mixed electoral system (proportional and majoritarian electoral system), which implies that 50 deputies will be elected based via party lists in one national electoral district and 51, one from each electoral district, will be elected in single-member constituencies.
The vote is held under the proportional and majoritarian electoral systems in one national electoral district, covering the whole territory of Moldova and foreign polling stations, as well as in 51 single-member constituencies, including Constituencies formed on the left bank of the Dniester river, in Transnistria, and abroad.
Single-member constituencies are determined by the government based on an independent commission's decision. The commission consists of representatives of the Central Election Commission (CEC); Legal, Appointments and Immunities Committee of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova; Presidency of the Republic of Moldova; parliamentary factions and groups; non-parliamentary political parties which obtained over 2 percent of the vote in the last parliamentary elections; national minorities; local public authorities; Bureau for Diaspora Relations; local civil society and academia, including geographers and sociologists.
When forming single-mandate constituencies, electoral districts in Moldova should have between 55,000 and 60,000 voters, while the difference in the number of voters between constituencies should not exceed 10 percent.
The parliamentary elections are held no later than three months after the expiration of the mandate or dissolution of the previous parliament. The date of the election shall be appointed no later than 60 days before the day of their holding. Early elections are held no earlier than 60 days, but not later than three months after the date of the parliament's dissolution.
The nomination of candidates begins 60 days before the election day.
A person, included in the list of candidates from one electoral candidate in a national district, may also run in one single-member constituency from the same electoral candidate or as an independent candidate.
In order to be registered by the district electoral council, a candidate should collect between 500 and 1,000 signatures in his support from the single-member district in which he intends to run. Female candidates should collect at least 250, but no more than 500 signatures.
Independent candidates have the right to withdraw their candidacy no later than 14 days before the election day.
The election campaign begins 30 days before the election.
The voting is held from 7:00 a.m. (5:00 GMT) to 9:00 p.m. (19:00 GMT).
A voter shall vote at the polling station situated in the single-member constituency at the place of his or her residence. Voters, who cannot come to a polling station, can ask for a voting right certificate in advance.
Each voter provides a member of the commission with an identity document and fills out two ballots, one - to vote for a party or an electoral bloc and the second one - to choose a candidate in a single-member constituency.
Citizens, who are outside Moldova on the election day, have the right to vote at any polling station of any single-member constituency formed outside the country.
From this year forward, the minimum voter turnout requirement has been removed.
In the national district, the mandates of lawmakers are distributed among the parties or blocs that have received the necessary minimum of votes. The nationwide voting threshold for a party or socio-political organizations is 6 percent and for electoral blocs - 8 percent. Parties that turn out to be below the threshold are excluded from the mandate distribution process.
The candidate who receives the largest number of valid votes in a single-member constituency shall be declared elected. If several candidates have an equal number of votes, the district electoral council determines the winner by drawing lots.
If a candidate elected in a single-member constituency is also elected via party list in the national district, he is considered elected only in a single-member constituency.
If no candidate is elected in a single-member district as a result of parliamentary elections, the CEC organizes partial elections in the relevant single-member district within two weeks.
If the election is declared invalid, the CEC organizes a second vote in the respective districts. The second vote is organized on the basis of the same voter lists by the same electoral bodies with the participation of the same candidates.
If the elections are declared invalid after the second vote or there is a vacant parliamentary mandate, the CEC sets a date for new elections that are held no earlier than 60 days, but no later than three months from the day when the elections were declared invalid.
