Moldova's presidential election runoff had a high voter engagement. During voting day, certain polling stations abroad ran out of ballots and thus did not allow voters to cast their vote. Organized transportation of voters from Transnistria and intimidation of election observers was also again present during the second round of the election. Promo-LEX’s parallel vote count largely correlated with the official results announced by the CEC and the vote count was conducted in a quick and calm manner.

The presidential election result in Moldova was greatly influenced by voters living outside of the Republic of Moldova, with two completely divergent election results emerged from this voter group, with voters in Transnistria overwhelmingly supporting Igor Dodon (74,24%), while only 4% of diaspora abroad voted for the incumbent. The run-off campaign was overshadowed by an unprecedented smear and disinformation campaign against Maya Sandu, and anti-civil society campaigns were also launched.

Ahead of this weekend’s run-off between incumbent President Dodon and Maia Sandu for the presidency, Promo-LEX published its final report on the conduct of the first round of the presidential election in Moldova. Promo-LEX’s parallel vote tabulation and analysis of almost all Vote Counting Protocols across Moldova do not show any significant discrepancies with the official data reported by the Central Election Commission. However, Promo-LEX expresses its concern over several recorded incidents.

Ahead of the presidential election in Moldova, election observers have again called on the CEC to ensure that video observation of polling stations will be operational on the whole of Election Day. Due to continued restricted travel and other anti-COVID restrictions in place, it is impossible to conduct a full observation of all polling stations domestically or abroad, which has prompted a renewed debate about video cameras in polling stations to ensure the transparency of elections.

The process of setting up polling stations (PS) abroad (outside of diplomatic mission premises) was contested and conducted without any public consultations, but now, for the first time, this was based on a clear mechanism for establishing the PS' number and location. The formula used to determine PS abroad is based on a recommendation by election observers and civil society. Promo-LEX discussed this and many other aspects of the election campaign in their third interim report.

Promo-LEX’s second interim report includes the following key observations: there is an uneven increase in the number of voters, unequal opportunities for potential candidates and for certain categories of voters, unreported campaign expenses amounting to at least MDL 735,021 (37,456 EURO), and contestants taking credit for activities funded by public money. The live broadcast of the press conference presenting this report is available with English interpretation here.