Mihai Popșoi warns: Russia could try to influence the elections through the organized transport of voters
The Russian Federation could try to influence the October 20 elections by organizing the illegal transport of Moldovan voters to polling stations abroad, warns the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mihai Popșoi. The head of diplomacy from Chisinau pointed out that those involved in such "illegal actions" will be sanctioned.
"Unfortunately, we have signals, including in the public space, that the Russian Federation would try to organize the transportation of voters, which is illegal according to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Moldova. If this is confirmed, we will have to take action. (..) Depending on the situation, the measures will be imposed by the electoral body", declared Mihai Popșoi.
The head of diplomacy from Chisinau reiterated that any attempt to influence the electoral process will be sanctioned: "Repercussions will follow, including legal ones".
For the October 20 elections, three conflict-ridden countries — Israel, Ukraine and the Russian Federation — will each have two polling stations. Initially, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) decided to open five polling stations in Russia, but the number was reduced to two, on the recommendation of the Intelligence and Security Service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Minister Mihai Popșoi emphasized that the Chisinau authorities will ensure the security of citizens inside the diplomatic missions of the three countries, but that they cannot control what happens outside them.
"We will make sustained efforts to effectively organize the electoral process, but, with great regret, considering the security situation in these three countries, we cannot guarantee security outside the diplomatic missions", explained Popșoi.
We remind you that the authorities' decision to open only two polling stations in the Russian Federation, instead of five, as initially decided by the Central Electoral Commission, was criticized by "Promo-LEX", which monitors the elections. The association believes that the situation can create a dangerous precedent and denotes a lack of communication and trust between the responsible institutions. The head of the Promo-LEX election observation mission, Nicolae Panfil, said in a comment for "Teleradio-Moldova" that, in the absence of explicit arguments, this decision raises questions.
Previously, Moscow and the political parties from Chisinau with pro-Kremlin ties criticized the reduction of polling stations for Moldovans in Russia.
