ENEMO

Final Reports - Final Report - IEOM to Moldova for 2024 Presidential Elections and Constitutional Referendum

Final Report - IEOM to Moldova for 2024 Presidential Elections and Constitutional Referendum

22. Jan. 2025.

Following an invitation from the Central Election Commission, the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) deployed an International Election Observation Mission (EOM), to observe the 20 October 2024 Presidential Elections and Constitutional Referendum in the Republic of Moldova. The Mission remained in the country to observe the second round of the Presidential Elections, held on 3 November 2024, as none of the presidential candidates received at least half of the votes cast on 20 October.

The EOM was deployed on 10 September 2024 and was composed of seven Core Team experts, based in Chisinau, and six long-term observers (LTOs), deployed in three teams,1 covering the entire country. The EOM stayed in the country to observe the second round of the Presidential elections. Eighteen short term observers (STOs) joined the Mission ahead of election day and ten ahead of the second-round election day for the Presidential Election. Including the six LTOs, the EOM formed 12 teams of two observers each to observe the voting, counting, and tabulation of results for the first round and eight for the second. The Mission was headed by Dritan Taulla.

This was ENEMO’s 42nd Election Observation Mission2 and the seventh in Moldova.3 The EOM’s aim was to improve the transparency of the election process and assess its integrity and compatibility with international obligations of Moldova and standards for democratic elections, as well as the domestic legislative framework. To achieve this, ENEMO observers monitored and assessed the overall political and electoral environment, the right to elect and stand for election, conduct of election management bodies, campaigning, gender representation, electoral dispute resolutions and other crucial aspects of the process. The EOM paid particular attention to the fulfillment of previous recommendations of ENEMO, as well as those of other international and domestic stakeholders.

The Final Report is based on ENEMO observers’ findings throughout the electoral period. The Report was preceded by an Interim Report, issued on 12 October, and two Statements of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions, issued after each round of the election, respectively on 21 October and on 4 November. Since their deployment, ENEMO observers conducted some 380 meetings with election management bodies, political parties and candidates, state institutions and high state officials,4 media, domestic civil society organizations, and other relevant stakeholders, besides observing the work of election management bodies at all levels, as well as a number of campaign events. ENEMO would like to express its gratitude to all interlocutors of the IEOM for their cooperation and support.

ENEMO’s International Election Observation Mission for the 2024 Presidential Elections and Constitutional Referendum in Moldova was financially supported by the National Democratic Institute (NDI); the Kingdom of the Netherlands; and the Soros Foundation in Moldova. The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of ENEMO and do not necessarily reflect the views of the donors.