The participation of the Transnistrian population in the 5 April 2009 ballot has been one of the issues discussed by the head of the Moldovan Central Election Commission (CEC), Eugeniu Stirbu, and the special envoy of the OSCE chairman-in-office, Charlampos Christopoulos.
Stirbu informed Christopoulos that two electoral districts have been set up to offer residents of the Transnistrian region the possibility of voting on 5 April. Even though essential efforts have been made, it was not possible to open polling stations in Transnistria, Stirbu said. He added that in these conditions, the CEC will resort to the opening of additional polling stations on the right bank of the Dniestre river.
Touching upon the possibility for Moldovans working abroad to participate in the election, Stirbu said that the current legislation allows opening polling stations only in the countries where Moldova has diplomatic missions, reported Moldpres.
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For his part, Christopoulos assured that the OSCE will offer the necessary support for the settlement of issues which may emerge during the Transnistrians participation in the ballot. The foreign official also specified that the 2009 parliamentary election will represent a test of democracy for Moldova. Christopoulos informed that the OSCE/ODIHR is to deploy over 230 observers to monitor the Moldovan parliamentary election.
CEC continues to receive registration documents from the election contenders, with the deadline being 5 March 2009, after which TV and radio election debates are to be launched.