According to the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Coalition 2007), the results of June’s local elections in Moldova were not perfect, but showed improvement and promise. To prepare for the elections, which the international community saw as a crucial test of Moldova’s commitment to democracy, the Coalition trained media monitoring organizations and deployed approximately 2,000 election observers. The Coalition witnessed and reported a number of election violations by authorities, while its regular media monitoring reports pointed out biases that led some media outlets to alter their positions. One particularly successful strategy, simultaneous vote counting, allowed the Coalition to report vote counts before the election officials. By announcing their results first, the Coalition was able to head off any attempt at fabricating votes.
In June, representatives from the Coalition and EF’s Moldova office presented their observations at an event jointly organized by the National Endowment for Democracy, the Moldova Foundation and EF. After their presentations, they were joined in a panel discussion by David Kramer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs; William Hill, former OSCE Ambassador to Moldova and Mary Pendleton, the first US Ambassador to Moldova. While in Washington, the Coalition also met with representatives from the State Department, USAID and United States Congress to discuss democratic reform and civil society development.
Coalition 2007’s successful monitoring of the local elections is due in large part to the experience gained in the parliamentary elections of 2005. First created and supported by EF, the Coalition is intended to unify the non-profit community as a single voice advocating free and fair elections. In October, 2005, EF commissioned an independent evaluation, that noted the Coalition’s success in reducing violations of election rights; providing a valuable source of information for public opinion and international organizations; and establishing mechanisms for public oversight in the election process. Between the 2005 and 2007 elections, EF reassessed the Coalition’s strategy and implemented several recommendations made by the evaluation. In order to strengthen the Coalition, EF joined as an observer member, devoted program staff to coordinate the Coalition’s activities more closely and provided a spokesperson to enhance its public relations.
Today, the Coalition is making plans for the future. At a recent meeting, members agreed to establish the Coalition as a permanent body and remain active year-round. In particular, constituent organizations plan to participate in a series of working groups to promote civic education. In August, Coalition members will gather again for a lessons-learned retreat and begin planning their strategy for Coalition 2009 and the parliamentary elections of that year. As Moldova sets its sights on European integration, the international community will continue to monitor Moldova’s path to reform.
