Risks of external involvement in elections, voter corruption and destabilization of the situation debated in the "Electoral Forum 2025"
In the context of this year's parliamentary elections, the risks of foreign involvement in the campaign, including through propaganda, voter corruption and destabilization of the situation are becoming increasingly evident, said the country's development partners at the Electoral Forum 2025, organized by civil society. Both government and opposition representatives argue that legislative changes are needed to make the electoral process transparent and to provide equal conditions for all contestants.
The authorities in Chisinau must focus their efforts on combating foreign interference, disinformation, manipulation and cyber-attacks in the run-up to this year's parliamentary elections. The recommendation was made by the Ambassador of the European Union to Chisinau, Janis Mazeiks, who said that we are currently witnessing more and more attempts to amplify tensions and distort public opinion on the country's European course. The electoral process must be organized transparently because the direction of the country's development in the coming years depends on it, Mazeiks said.
"It is important that the next parliament is democratically elected and respects democratic principles. Without this, the Republic of Moldova's integration into the European Union could be slowed down, halted or even reversed. This condition can only be met if the elections are free and fair, conducted without external interference, corruption or propaganda attacks," said the Ambassador of the European Union to Chisinau.
The massive corruption of voters in last fall's elections prompted the authorities to adopt urgent measures, including tougher sanctions for electoral corruption, as well as to streamline anti-corruption institutions, such as the merger of the Prosecutor's Office for Anti-Corruption and the Prosecutor's Office for the Fight against Organized Crime and Special Cases, said PAS MP Vasile Grădinaru. According to him, the Parliament is also currently working on improving the regulatory framework on postal voting, to provide equal opportunities for citizens from the diaspora to express their right to vote.
"The project Nb. 40 for 2025 has been drafted, it is about the merger of the prosecutor's offices on PCCOCS and PA, so that, especially in combating the phenomenon of illegal financing of parties, it was found that criminal organizations have interconnected, or have made a joint body with political parties so that they finance illegally and then this merger would come to solve both problems from the start. There will be another legislative initiative, postal voting, we will expand the number, and we will have to set longer deadlines for the process of filing or registering candidates", said MP Vasile Grădinaru.
The Party of Socialists will present several legislative initiatives this year to fight electoral corruption, the use of administrative resources in the campaign, as well as equal access to media, said PSRM MP Vlad Batrîncea.
"We hope to register in March, to implement those recommendations that are included in the OSCE report, including the de-bureaucratization of the registration procedure, the accreditation of representatives, observers from political parties, electoral contestants and the tightening of penalties for corruption," said Vlad Batrîncea.
Last fall's presidential elections and republican constitutional referendum were conducted efficiently and largely transparently, with candidates able to campaign freely, said international observers who monitored the elections. However, attempts and cases of voter bribery, illicit funding and interference by the Russian Federation were recorded during the campaign. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe underlined that there was a misuse of administrative resources and unequal coverage of candidates in the media.
