1. REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA Access of persons with disabilities to the electoral process in the Republic of Moldova: achievements and perspectives CENTRAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION

2. General information • Area: 33,8 thousand km² • Population: 3,58 million • State Register of Voters: 3,22 voters • Proportional representation System (local councils) • Mixed parallel system (FPTP+PR for parliamentary elections) • Two rounds system (President and local) • Right to vote – citizens of RM, 18 years old. Restriction – persons whose mental incapability has been recognized by a final court decision* . * The Parliament removed this restriction, adopting an amendment to the Electoral Code, which hasn’t been published yet.

3. Current situation • Persons with disabilities: 183.415 (5,2% of the population) • About 46 % of public buildings comply with accessibility conditions • About 15 % of the polling stations’ premises comply with accessibility conditions

4. Legislative safeguards • UN Convention on the Rights of persons with Disabilities (ratified in 2010) • The Law on Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities • Electoral Code (1997) • Instruction regarding the infrastructure of the polling station (2014) • Regulation on the electoral campaign media coverage (amended in 2015) • Regulation on the accessibility of the electoral process for people with disabilities (2016)

5. Three voting procedures: • ordinary voting • assisted voting • voting at the place of stay – with the mobile voting box

6. Area of visual disabilities • Voting procedure using the template-envelope for the voters with visual disabilities: • 2010 – 1 polling station (PS) • 2014 – 57 PS's • 2015 – 100% PS’s • Special rulers for the voter to apply the signature in the voters’ list • Voting booths equipped with additional light source and magnifying glasses • TV closed circuit systems

7. Area of mobile disabilities Adjustment of the secret voting booths to special needs (size 50 cm*30cm*150cm) Equipping the polling stations with special metal ramps

8. Inclusion of persons with disabilities in organizing the voting process Including person with disabilities as members of the precinct electoral bureau Accreditation of 31 national observers from the “Motivation” Association, of whom 16 are persons with mobile disabilities

9. Motivation and information of persons with disabilities • Voter’s Guide in Braille language and audio version • Poster explaining the voting procedures • Didactic-methodological movie “Direct and secret voting of persons with visual disabilities using the template-envelope” and trainings • Audio motivational spots, video spots with sign language and subtitles • Sign language translators for the CEC meetings and in polling stations

10. CEC’s short-term objectives in the area of accessibility • Setting a special column in the SRV for identification of persons with disabilities • Including more persons with disabilities as electoral officials and observers • Introducing binding duty to ensure mimic-gesture translation of all informative materials related to electoral topics Long-term objectives in the area of accessibility to voting • Improving continuously the normative acts so as to increase the level of accessibility to electoral procedures • Developing alternative voting means: remote voting, voting with the help of special equipment for blind persons

11. Thank you! Corneliu PASAT Central Electoral Commission Republic of Moldova Address: Vasile Alecsandri Str., nr. 119, Chisinau, MD-2012Tel.: +37322/251.451; Fax: +37322/234.047E-mail: info@cec.md Web: www.cec.md