Early Parliamentary Elections, 29 July 2009

Following an invitation from Moldova's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, ODIHR deployed an election observation mission on 26 June to observe the early parliamentary elections on 29 July.

Led by Ambassador Boris Frlec of Slovenia, the mission included a 13-member core team based in Chisinau and 20 long-term observers throughout the country.

For election-day observation, the mission joined efforts with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the European Parliament. Together, some 300 short-term observers from 40 OSCE participating States were deployed.

According to the mission's final report: "The parliament elected on 5 April 2009 failed to elect a new president twice and therefore had to be dissolved. As a result, early parliamentary elections were called for 29 July 2009. These elections were well administered overall and allowed for competition among political parties representing a plurality of views. While many OSCE commitments were met, the campaign environment was negatively affected by subtle pressure, intimidation, misuse of administrative resources and bias in media coverage. The electoral process underscored the need for continued democratic reforms to restore public trust."

Long-term observation

The EOM, which commenced its activities in Chisinau on 26 June, is headed by Ambassador Boris Frlec of Slovenia and consists of 13 international experts drawn from 11 OSCE participating States. Twenty long-term observers are expected to arrive by 30 June and to be deployed throughout the country on 1 July.

The mission will assess this election for its compliance with principles for democratic electoral processes (including commitments agreed to by all the OSCE participating States), as well as national legislation. Observers will closely monitor campaign activities, media coverage, the legislative framework and its implementation, the media situation, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies, and the resolution of election disputes.

Election day

ODIHR requested 200 short-term observers to be deployed immediately prior to the 29 July elections. The short-term observers will be deployed throughout the country in multinational teams of two to monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results.

The day after the elections, the mission will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued approximately eight weeks after the end of the observation mission.

Previous elections

ODIHR has observed a number of electoral events in Moldova, including the presidential election in 1996, parliamentary elections in 1998, 2001, 2005 and 2009, as well as local elections in 2003 and 2007.