Comment of the Bureau for Reintegration Policies in connection with Tiraspol’s recent statements regarding the Republican Constitutional Referendum of 20 October 2024

Regarding the comment of the political representative from Tiraspol on the organization of the Referendum on October 20, 2024, the Bureau for Reintegration Policies clarifies as follows.

All citizens of the Republic of Moldova, regardless of their place of residence, are expected to participate in the Presidential Elections and Referendum on October 20, 2024. For our fellow citizens from the eastern districts of the country, 30 polling stations will be opened within the perimeter of the Security Zone, in settlements under the effective control of the constitutional authorities. Opening polling stations in an uncontrolled perimeter, where there are no guarantees regarding the security of the organization of this electoral process, as well as the certainty that there will be no external interference that could damage the result, is contrary to the law.

We inform you that in recent weeks Tiraspol has been creating additional obstacles for the access of representatives of political parties, as well as journalists and cultural figures from the right bank of the Nistru River, in order to avoid any interaction between them and the citizens of the Republic of Moldova from the eastern districts of the country. The illegal security structures of Tiraspol are thoroughly checking all vehicles heading towards the municipality of Bender and the left bank of the Nistru River, in order to prevent the distribution of election materials or advertising related to the Referendum of October 20 of this year.

Not even the request of the Bureau for Reintegration Policies to allow the representatives of the electoral commissions access to the eastern districts with the mobile ballot box on the day of the Referendum was accepted by Tiraspol. Implicitly, the comment of the political representative from Tiraspol can only be interpreted as a manipulative action, most likely done at the behest of external forces.

In this context, the authorities of the Republic of Moldova once again call on Tiraspol to refrain from any obstruction of the voting and Referendum of 20 October, as well as from any attempt to interfere – directly or indirectly – in the electoral process.