Members of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova have appealed to the Court of Appeal, citing the manipulative narratives of Maria Zakharova, who claimed that more Moldovans registered in Russia than in Italy for the elections, but fewer polling stations are open.
The Russian diplomatic spokeswoman said on September 17 that although more than 8,000 Moldovans have registered for the elections in Russia, Chisinau is setting up five polling stations in Russia, while in Italy, where in 2024 there were about 2,500 pre-registrations – 60.
Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Pavel Postica, explained to “Teleradio-Moldova” that they decided for two reasons. He referred to the decreasing trend and dynamics of Moldovan voter turnout in the Russian Federation and the security risks in the war with Ukraine.
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A day later, on September 18, Moldova’s socialists announced that they would ask the court to force the Central Electoral Commission to review the decision and increase the number of polling stations in the Russian Federation.
“The number of polling stations outside the country is determined according to several factors and is not based solely on pre-registration data. The Central Election Commission primarily examines voter turnout at polling stations abroad in the last three elections. In addition, the data provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office for Relations with the Diaspora, as well as the data provided by local authorities on the number of compatriots settled in the host state are also analyzed,” Rodica Sirbu, spokeswoman of the CEC, told Realitatea Socialists.
Moldova will open 234 polling stations abroad for the presidential elections and the referendum on EU accession on October 20, 2024.