Moldova's rebel region leader vetoes amendments to electoral code

July 16, 2009

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The leader of the unrecognized Dniester Moldovan republic (a.k.a. Transnistria), Igor Smirnov, has vetoed amendments to the Electoral Code, which decreased the voter turnout at parliamentary elections from 25 to 15 per cent and at referendums from 50 to 15 per cent.

The amendments were passed in May at the initiative of MP Andrey Sipchenko. Smirnov described the decrease in the voter turnout as inadmissible and returned the bill to the supreme council (parliament).

"It is impossible to recognize as nationwide the elections or referendums if the voter turnout is 15 per cent. Moreover, one cannot regard candidates as elected or decisions as adopted if they mustered the votes of half of the participants, that is, 7.5 per cent plus one vote of the overall number of people included in the voter rolls. Elections like this cannot be described as nationwide, while decisions taken at referendums like this cannot be recognized as decisions adopted by the majority of the population or by the people," Smirnov said.

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