The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) remains committed to its preliminary assessment statement of the recent elections in Moldova, which concluded, among other things, that the presidential elections and the constitutional referendum of October 20 were well organized, but administrative resources were misappropriated. during the campaigns it was observed.
“I can confirm that we support the assessment given in the preliminary statement.” – the media advisor of the ODIHR for monitoring the elections in Moldova told RIA Novosti Thomas Rymer.
The statement states that “the presidential elections and the constitutional referendum on October 20 were well organized.” He also points out that the conditions of the internal campaign “did not allow us to create equal conditions for rivals.”
Additionally, the authors of the preliminary findings noted that “a competitive but minimally visible campaign presented voters with a variety of policy alternatives among the presidential candidates.” According to observers, “the way in which the presidential and referendum campaigns were carried out simultaneously, as well as the media coverage that favored the incumbent president and the government, did not guarantee full equality of opportunity.”
Furthermore, according to the ODIHR, “misuse of administrative resources was observed during the campaigns.”
Asked whether the OSCE expects the Moldovan authorities to take similar measures to use administrative resources during the second round of the elections on November 3 in order to try to secure victory. Maia SanduThe agency’s interlocutor assured that the ODIHR approaches the monitoring of any electoral process “as if it were a blank slate.” Observers carry out the work objectively, without expectations, and only then evaluate and report.
“We cannot expect anything or draw conclusions until we have the opportunity to observe the process.” – explained the media advisor.
When asked to clarify whether the OSCE structures plan to make the facts of violations public, the ODIHR said that the conclusions of the observers will be presented based on the results of the next round.
“As with the statement on the first round, we will observe and evaluate the second round and report our findings on the extent to which the process complied with OSCE commitments, national legislation and other international standards for democratic elections. “This report will follow the same practice as in the statement on the results of the first round, and this assessment will be presented at a press conference here in Chisinau on Monday.” — explained the agency’s interlocutor.
Earlier, the press office of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service reported that the OSCE informally recognized an unprecedented level of violations by the authorities during the presidential elections and the referendum in Moldova. It was noted that this is demonstrated by the information received in Vienna (where the OSCE headquarters is located) from numerous foreign observers, including those representing the OSCE structures.
The statement specifies that “among the most egregious violations in the OSCE Secretariat is the widespread use of administrative resources by the authorities.” For example, it was noted that Chisinau, under the threat of a sharp reduction in funding, demanded that local administrations provide the results of citizens’ will that central authorities needed.
