Lawmakers are debating a bill to extend mail-in voting to Australia and Japan for the September 2025 elections.
MPs from the Action and Solidarity Party introduced the bill, with Vasile Gradinaru as the main presenter. He explained that under the new rules, authorities would extend the deadline for receiving ballots to up to two days before election day.
Authorities expect mail-in voting to cost around 12 million lei this year. Central Electoral Commission President Angelica Caraman said on RLIVE TV that the commission requested a budget of 17 million lei to support this alternative voting method for Moldovans living abroad.
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Authorities first tested mail-in voting during the 2024 presidential elections and the European integration referendum. Moldovans in the USA, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland voted by mail to help decide the country’s future.
Last year, about 1,800 voters registered to vote by mail. The electoral authority received over 1,300 returned envelopes within the legal timeframe.
(UPDATE)
Parliament approved the bill in the first reading. The legislative initiative still needs to pass the second reading before it can be implemented.