Local Elections, 5 November 2023
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Mission at a glance
Head of Mission: Corien Jonker
Core team of 11 experts from 11 OSCE participating States, based in Chişinău
Mission schedule
26 September: Arrival of the core team
4 October: Arrival of long-term observers
5 October: Briefing of long-term observers
6 October: Deployment of long-term observers throughout the country
1 November: Arrival of short-term observers
2 November: Briefing of short-term observers
3 November: Deployment of short-term observers throughout the country
5 November: Election day
6 November: Press conference on preliminary findings and conclusions
8 November: Departure of short-term observers
11 November: Departure of long-term observers
15 November: Departure of the core team
The mission calendar may be extended in case of the second round of mayoral races.
Following an invitation to observe the local elections in Moldova scheduled for 5 November 2023, and in accordance with its mandate, ODIHR has deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) for these elections.
Long-term Observation
The mission is led by Corien Jonker and consists of a core team of 11 experts based in Chişinău. In addition, 28 long-term observers will be deployed throughout the country from 6 October.
The mission will assess whether the elections are in line with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation.
Observers will closely follow fundamental components of the elections such as:
- voter registration
- candidate registration
- campaign activities and financing
- the work of the election administration and relevant state institutions
- election-related legislation and its implementation
- the resolution of election-related disputes
The ODIHR EOM will also conduct qualitative and quantitative monitoring of media coverage of the election campaign. The ODIHR EOM will also conduct a limited qualitative and quantitative observation of election campaigns on social networks.
Election Day
ODIHR will request the secondment of 200 short-term observers from OSCE participating States to follow the election day proceedings. The short-term observers will be deployed throughout the country in multinational teams of two, which will monitor:
- the opening of polling stations
- the voting
- the counting of ballots
- the tabulation of results at all levels.
Co-operation with other partners
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament intend to deploy observer delegations for these elections.
The day after the elections, ODIHR, together with its international partners, will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued approximately two months after the end of the election process.
Previous Elections
ODIHR has previously observed 16 elections in Moldova, most recently the 2021 early parliamentary elections.