Chişinău, Moldova – The International Republican Institute’s (IRI) International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) today released its preliminary statement on Moldova’s October 20, 2024, presidential and referendum elections.

The international delegation, co-led by six-term U.S. Congressman Peter Roskam and former European Union Commissioner and United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Danuta Hübner, deployed short-term observer (STO) teams across Moldova’s regions. These teams were supported by a core group of thematic experts who have been analyzing the pre-election environment for several weeks and observing the election day process.

“Moldovans demonstrated resilience in the face of unprecedented foreign interference,” said Roskam. “Notwithstanding, Moldova’s institutions are under constant assault from malign actors whose primary aim is to destabilize the country and usurp the will of the Moldovan people. Undeniably, the greatest threat to Moldova’s electoral integrity is malign foreign influence from the Russian Federation.”

Hübner added, “Though preliminary election results have been declared, efforts to undermine Moldova’s institutions will continue. Moldovans and the democratic community must remain vigilant and stay engaged in reforms that will further consolidate democracy. After all, elections are fundamental for democracy, but democracy cannot survive on elections alone.”

Key Findings:

Russian Interference: There was significant foreign interference, including vote-buying, propaganda, cyberattacks, and provocateurs, particularly targeting the election in Ialoveni raion.

Increased Voter Turnout: Over 1.5 million Moldovans voted, marking a 10% increase from 2020. Polling stations were well-staffed with notable gender inclusion in leadership roles.

Transparency and Oversight: Strong participation from citizens and international observers ensured a high level of transparency at many polling stations.

CEC’s Strong Performance: The CEC successfully increased polling stations abroad, implemented postal voting, and maintained stations for Moldovan citizens that reside in the Transnistrian region, despite security concerns.

Voter Registry Concerns: Despite efforts to remove invalid voters and to synchronize the State Registry of Voters with other Moldovan government databases, IRI observed that voters and political parties had continued concerns with the potential inclusion of deceased or otherwise inactive voters on the voter list.

Election Integrity Issues: Isolated incidents of carousel voting and vote-buying were observed, raising concerns about the integrity of the election in specific areas.

Campaign Challenges: Reduced visibility of campaign activities, cases of misuse of state resources and illicit financing linked to Russian actors were reported.

Recommendations:

The Central Election Commission (CEC) in collaboration with the State Register of Population should continue to update and maintain the integrity of the State Registry of Voters (SRV) including establishing a commission of experts to resolve the complex issues of reconciling the voter list, especially concerning Moldovan citizens in diaspora and providing the updated voter list in an analyzable format to ensure independent analysis of its quality.

Counter foreign malign influence by supporting initiatives at the national and local levels, equipping non-governmental and state institutions to confront foreign authoritarian threats to democracy.

Expand postal voting to a larger number of countries, to enable Moldovans abroad to fully participate in the electoral process.

Ensure judicial integrity by holding criminals accountable to the rule of law and empowering authorities to investigate and prosecute foreign actors who attempt to disrupt the campaign and electoral processes.

Combat illicit finance by continuing efforts to address external funding threats and increasing the capacity of institutions to combat them.

Expand the Audiovisual Council’s jurisdiction to cover a wider range of platforms, safeguarding Moldova’s information ecosystem from foreign malign influence.

IRI will continue to monitor the post-election process and issue a final, comprehensive report in the coming weeks, which will include further analysis and recommendations for future elections. IRI remains committed to supporting Moldova’s democratic development and its aspirations for closer European integration.

About the Mission:

IRI has led or supported 249 international and citizen election observation missions worldwide and is recognized for its impartiality and professionalism. The organization has been actively working in Moldova for more than 20 years, contributing to the strengthening of democratic institutions and civil society. The IRI 34-person expert delegation for the 2024 Moldovan election is observing all aspects of the electoral process across Moldova, providing a comprehensive analysis of the election process.

The Moldova mission adheres to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and the Code of Conduct, as adopted by the United Nations in 2005.

This mission is made possible with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS).

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