Following the conclusion of the second round of the local elections in the Republic of Moldova, the EU Presidency notes with satisfaction that, all in all, they went off smoothly and that voters had been given a genuine choice between candidates and parties, even if the elections did not comply on all points with the international obligations entered into by the Republic of Moldova.
With a view to future elections, the Presidency urges the Republic of Moldova to analyse the remaining problems, above all shortcomings relating to equal access for all candidates to the media, the orderly registration of all candidates, as well as the maintenance of the electoral registers and the vote counting, and to rectify them.
The Presidency welcomes the fact that the elections were professionally supported and monitored by a large-scale OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission as well as a delegation from the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe.
The Presidency regrets that the inhabitants of the Transnistrian region in the Republic of Moldova were not able to participate in the elections.
The EU Presidency is keen to continue and indeed intensify cooperation with the Republic of Moldova. In particular, it wants to carry on giving substance to the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Action Plan adopted in this context.
