What documents do you need to vote in the elections in the Republic of Moldova if you are abroad

In order to vote in the elections in the Republic of Moldova abroad, Moldovan citizens must present an act, such as the identity card, the provisional identity card or the passport, even if the latter is expired.

Abroad will activate 301 polling stations. Photo: Inquam

The necessary documents are:

1) the identity card or the identity card of the citizen of the Republic of Moldova (valid);

2) provisional identity card, provisional (valid) identity card;

3) Passport of the citizen of the Republic of Moldova (including expired) ”, according to the Moldovan authorities.

For Moldovans in the diaspora, 301 polling stations will activate in 41 states, the number being higher than 2024.

“The Commission has decided to organize 12 polling stations in the parliamentary elections for the citizens with voting rights from the localities on the left of the Dniester, as well as for those domiciled in the municipality of Beder and in Chițcani commune, the villages of Cremenciug and Gîsca from the Causeni district, provisionally located outside the sovereign control of the Constitutional Authorities,” they have previously informed the officials of the Chisinau electoral authority.

During the presidential election and the pro-EU referendum last year, 231 polling stations were opened for Moldovan citizens abroad, as well as 30 for the residents of the Transnistria separatist region.

The voting in the polling stations abroad will take place between 07:00 and 21:00, according to the local time zone.

For example, Moldovans from Romania will be able to exercise their right to vote within 23 polling stations, opened in 14 cities in Romania, more precisely in Bucharest, Iași, Cluj, Timișoara, Craiova, Brașov, Sibiu, Oradea, Baia Mare, Târgu Mureș, Suceava, Bacău, Galați and Constanța.

In addition to the traditional vote inside the polling stations, for the first time in the parliamentary elections, Moldovan citizens in ten states, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Norway, New Zealand and Sweden, will be able to vote by correspondence, using postal or courier services. However, for this type of vote it was necessary to register prior until August 14, and according to the data of the Central Election Commission (CEC), 2,606 voters were registered.

Buying the vote by the Ilan Șor Prous

Recently, the Moldovan prime minister, Dorin Recean, warned that Moscow intends to buy more votes than in the 2024 elections, a year in which about 8% of the votes were fraudulent. The head of the ministers' office emphasizes that the vote is to be influenced both in the country and in the diaspora.

“In the previous year about 8% of the votes were fraudulent. This year's target is even greater because what has understood the Russian Federation and the criminal groups it finances is that the only way to overcome us as democracy is by vote. They tried destabilizations, tried to create conflict on the Dniester, tried to organize paid protests and attacks on force institutions, they understood that they cannot defeat us in this way and now emphasize misinformation, on spreading false information, trying to scare people and to buy the vote, as well as in the Republic of Moldova said the Moldovan Prime Minister.

And the head of the General Police Inspectorate (IGP) of the Republic of Moldova, Viorel Cernăuțeanu, said that the Kremlin, through Ilan Șor, the leader of an organized criminal group, wants to influence the vote of the Moldovans in the diaspora.

“We have a very well prepared diaspora, in which we trust and which we rely to not fall prey to the illegal processes promoted by the Russian Federation, which is trying to use it for electoral corruption purposes. Most of these attempts take place in countries with a large diaspora, where such actions can be more easily unnoticed by the law authorities. It is, in particular, about Romania, France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom, states where Moldovan communities are very well represented ”, the head of the IGP has been.

Decisive diaspora

According to Viorel Cernăuțeanu, the group led by the Ilan Șor Prous offers around 1,000 Moldovan lei (about 261 Romanian lei) for a vote from the Republic of Moldova. In the diaspora, the amounts offered to buy a vote can be almost six times higher.

“We do our best to prevent these forms of electoral corruption and we work intensely with the institutions responsible to ensure a correct and transparent electoral process both in the country and abroad”, concluded Viorel Cernăuțeanu.

Over one million Moldovans live in Germany, Italy, France or Spain, being a huge force that is often decisive. A concrete example: in the presidential elections of 2024, Maia Sandu won due to the massive vote from abroad, where over 320,000 people exercised, and most of them voted for her. Without the diaspora, the victory of the leader from Chisinau would not have been safe.