At least eight potential presidential candidates organized campaign events before the official start of the election period. These activities included setting up tents, distributing leaflets, advertising on social media, and hosting events.
Regarding the referendum on EU accession, both “for” and “against” campaigns have started, and their actions could influence the vote, reports RUPOR.MD. These findings appear in the first report of the Presidential Elections and National Constitutional Referendum Observation Mission by the Promo-LEX Association.
“We are also concerned about attempts to use administrative resources. From July 8 to August 18, the Government of the Republic of Moldova conducted an information campaign in the public space. This campaign started before the authorities announced the election date. The events used state funds; some occurred during the electoral period after August 1. According to the law, using administrative resources during the election period is prohibited. We recommend that public authorities refrain from using administrative resources,” stated Nicolae Panfil, Program Director at Promo-LEX, during a press conference.
During monitoring, Promo-LEX found that at least 17 potential candidates or electoral competitors expressed interest in participating in the presidential elections, and at least eight engaged in electoral activities.
According to the report, even if a political party designates or announces a specific person as a candidate for the presidential elections, the party should refrain from directly promoting these individuals until the official start of the electoral campaign
”Regarding the constitutional referendum, we noted that many political parties and electoral blocs have already expressed or established their positions. We expect to see a range of opinions on this issue. Additionally, we identified that several electoral-related events occurred before the registration of referendum participants. The Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) and the president launched the platform pentru.md to promote EU membership. The president also introduced the ‘Ambassadors for a Referendum’ initiative earlier,” noted Nicolae Panfil.
FOR THE MOSTÂ IMPORTANT NEWS, FOLLOW US ONÂ TWITTER!
According to Promo-LEX, all presidential candidates and referendum participants can start their electoral campaign 30 days before the elections.
Promo-LEX’s observation mission identified that Ilan Sor coordinated two projects that could influence voter preferences. The first project involves offering 2,000 lei in benefits to pensioners from specific regions through the Russian bank Promsvyazbank. The second project features the launch of ”GagauziaLand” on August 18, with a promise of free entry for both children and adults to the amusement park.