Russian ambassador in Chisinau, summoned to the MFA in connection with Moscow's intentions to open polling stations to the left of the Nistru
The Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Chisinau, Oleg Vasnetsov, will be summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on March 12. According to the institution, the Russian diplomat will be informed of the position regarding the disapproval of the decision regarding the opening of voting stations of the Russian Federation in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova.
Russia would open six polling stations on the left bank of the Nistru for the presidential elections scheduled for March 17, the media from the region announced. Previously, the constitutional authorities declared that only one section would be opened in the premises of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Chisinau. The Reintegration Policy Bureau states that the issue is being discussed at the diplomatic level and pleads for refraining from organizing such sections in the Transnistrian region, where citizens' access is limited.
The six polling stations will be opened on March 17 and will be active from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., the media from the Transnistrian region informs. According to the source, three sections will be established in Tiraspol and one each in Rîbnița, Bender and Grigoriopol. Citizens on the left bank of the Nistru who want to vote will present an ID card, which could be an expired Soviet or foreign passport. The media also writes that the decision was taken in accordance with the decision of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Moldova.
On the other hand, the Reintegration Policy Office emphasized that the dialogue on this issue is ensured through diplomatic channels. In a comment for Radio Moldova, the representatives of the Bureau stated that the Chisinau authorities continue to plead for refraining from organizing such sections in the Transnistrian region, which is outside the control of the constitutional authorities, where accessibility is limited, measures cannot be ensured to maintain public order and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country is violated.
If the polling stations are opened on the territory of the Transnistrian region, then Russia will repeatedly violate the principle of sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova, and these polling stations will be declared illegal, said political analyst Anatol Țăranu. We remind you that previously the Ministry of Foreign Affairs allowed the opening of only one polling station for the presidential elections in Russia, namely in the premises of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Chisinau.
The presidential election in Russia will take place between March 15-17, being the first presidential election since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin, who has ruled Russia since 2000, has announced his intention to run for a fifth term. In the 2018 presidential elections in the Russian Federation, citizens on the left side of the Nistru with Russian passports had 24 polling stations.
