ELECTION RECOUNT, VOTER LIST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CHISINAU 000317

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UMB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM MD
SUBJECT: ELECTION RECOUNT, VOTER LIST
FRAUD, VORONIN OFFERS AMNESTY FOR
DEMONSTRATORS Q April 16

Classified by Ambassador Asif J. Chaudhry
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: A comprehensive recount of
ballots cast in Moldova's parliamentary
elections began on April 15. As of late
afternoon April 16 results were still being
tallied, and final results may be announced
either on April 17 or after the (Easter)
weekend. Leaders of the three opposition
parties that won seats in parliament, who
were given the opportunity to review the
voter lists, held a press conference on
April 15 in which they presented evidence
of many thousands of cases of
irregularities in the voter lists. The
opposition parties, the international
community, domestic bloggers, and the human
rights world have all been speaking out
against reports of excess use of force
against the people arrested in connection
with the violence that took place during
the April 7 protest demonstration. In a
step towards national reconciliation
President Voronin announced an amnesty for
those detained in connection with the
demonstrations (with the exception of
"recidivists.") End Summary

CEC Recount Results
--------------


2. (C) A comprehensive ballot recount began
on Wednesday, April 15, with polling
stations recounting from scratch the
ballots cast on April 5. According to the
CEC, early in the morning on April 15,
armed police teams delivered the ballot
papers from local courts to polling
stations. Ballots were re-counted and then
taken to the district electoral commissions
(DEC). Though the DECs were required to
deliver the protocols to the Central
Election Commission in Chisinau by the
night of April 15 (or not later than early
morning on April 16) as of late afternoon
on April 16 there were still 8 more
districts yet to report. Some ballots
were being recounted in the presence of
OSCE observers who were accredited for the
elections, though without the massive
observer presence available on Election
Day. No recounting is under way at those
33 polling stations that were opened at
Moldovan diplomatic missions abroad. The
CEC announced that the results of the
recount would likely be made public on
Friday, but some doubt remains about
whether they can finish by April 17. The
upcoming weekend (April 18-19) will be
Easter, and the GOM may wait until after
the weekend to announce the results.

Opposition Charges Voter List Fraud
--------------


3. (C) The opposition leaders gave a press
conference on April 15 announcing that they
had been systematically reviewing electoral
lists over the allotted four days, working
with local electoral boards. On April 15,
the three opposition leaders of PL, PLDM,
and AMN held a press conference to discuss
their findings to date. They said that
they had access to 95 percent of the voter
lists, but were not given the lists for
part of Chisinau municipality. The Appeals
Court ruled that it is illegal to make
copies of voters lists, but this decision
came after the opposition had already
copied the majority of the lists. Over the
last few days these parties have been
diligently verifying voter lists in an
attempt to finish the work before the
Easter holiday. The opposition claims that
it has uncovered thousands of examples of
fraudulent voting, but says that this is

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only the tip of the iceberg, as they still
have many more lists to copy.


4. (C) From their work so far, in Chisinau
alone, the opposition says it found 5,166
people who voted multiple times and an
additional 3,280 votes that they claim were
fraudulent because multiple voters used the
same identity card number. Out of three
raions checked, 1600 had voted with no
identity card. Urechean held up a copy of
a voter list with one column under which
names were clearly marked on one side and a
blank column under which identity card
numbers should have been written but were
absent. Furthermore, 1500 allegedly voted
illegally with improper identity documents,
such as a driver's license. An identity
card is the only permissible form of
identification, with one exception: the
elderly can use their Soviet passport.
There were also 1000 falsified signatures
and several thousands of deceased voters on
the lists. The three leaders believe that
between 10-30% of the total votes were
forged.


5. (C) The opposition plans to request that
the CEC extend the date the Constitutional
Court must validate the election. In an
April 16 statement, the CEC rejected all
accusations regarding the opposition
leader's claims that they were denied
access to voter lists. The CEC stresses
that the three parties checked 90 percent
of the lists. As to the Court of Appeals'
interdiction to copy the lists, the CEC
said that the parties should have completed
their work by the time the sentence was
pronounced by the court and, therefore,
this respective decision would not have
affected their ability to scan the lists.

Human Rights Abuses Spark Vocal Criticism
--------------


6. (C) Reports of excess use of force in
the detention centers have sparked much
criticism of the GOM. Chisinau Mayor and
Liberal Party Leader Dorin Chirtoaca sent
out several e-mail reports with graphic
pictures of bruised bodies, broken bones
and the two known deceased. These reports
have been rapidly disseminated around the
world. The opposition parties, the
international community, domestic bloggers,
and the human rights world have all been
speaking out forcefully against excessive
use of force against the people arrested in
connection with the violence that took
place during the April 7 protest
demonstration.

Voronin offers Amnesty to Protesters
--------------


7. (C) In a speech the evening of April
15, President Voronin announced an amnesty
for those arrested in connection with the
April 7 protests. He stated all those
arrested would be released, but he added
that "the recidivists who took advantage of
a difficult political situation" will
remain in detention. Observers report that
Voronin's style in this speech was
significantly different from previous
speeches, as his tone was milder and more
conciliatory, which suggest that Voronin
was trying to reconcile society.


8. (C) However Voronin's attempts at
national reconciliation came at the expense
of relations with Romania. Some eighty
percent of Voronin's speech was dedicated
to accusing Bucharest of interfering in
Moldova's domestic affairs by inciting
enmity between ethnic groups in Moldova.

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He said that Bucharest must give up its
desire for a "Great Romania" and appealed
to the EU to examine Basescu's statements
and behavior in relation to Moldova. He
suggested that Romania should sign the
"Basic and Border Treaties" as a way to
restore bilateral relations between Moldova
and Romania.

Comment
--------------


9. (C) The offer of amnesty will go a long
way in alleviating the tense after-shocks
of last week's events and subsequent
arrests and detentions. It looks like
Voronin is now trying to promote himself as
a more compassionate leader in hopes that
the nation will support the results of the
recount, and cease the flow if criticism.
However, there are concerns about what
could happen should the recount result give
the Communists the 61 votes necessary to
elect a president, and not the 60
originally reported. Regardless of this
latest attempt at rectifying the
government's heavy handed image, students
and journalists are still in hiding out of
fear of being arrested. Some detainees who
were only sentenced to four or five days
imprisonment are now being released, but
widespread releases have not begun yet.

10 (C) Voronin is holding Romania culpable
and many Moldovan sympathizers have been
effectively frightened by the police
arrests of anyone the state deems is guilty
of the April 7 riots. Romanian President
Basescu, fuelling the flames and responding
to Voronin's attacks in his own way, asked
his Cabinet on April 15, by emergency
decree, to begin amending the citizenship
law. If amended, the law would allow
Moldovan applicants to receive Romanian
passports within six months of applying.
Applicants' interviews will also be
abolished, thereby shortening the procedure
by which Moldovans are granted Romanian
citizenship.

CHAUDHRY