Election issue: OSCE ignores discrimination against Transnistrian residents

The violation of the rights of voters in Transnistria is being hushed up on international platforms. In particular, the OSCE is not responding properly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PMR told Izvestia. Earlier, Chisinau decided to open three times fewer polling stations for Transnistrians in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Tiraspol has also addressed the UN, EU institutions and relevant human rights organizations on this issue. Amid rising tensions, citizens of the unrecognized republic are afraid of provocations during the voting, the Supreme Council of the PMR told Izvestia. Experts believe that destabilization in Moldova cannot be avoided as the elections approach.

The international community ignores Transnistria's problems

International organizations actually ignore the discrimination of voters in Transnistria on the eve of the parliamentary elections in Moldova, the Foreign Ministry of the unrecognized republic told Izvestia. In particular, we are talking about the OSCE.

"We note the lack of a proper response to this egregious situation related to massive violations of human rights by international participants, primarily the OSCE," they said.

Pridnestrovie has also appealed to the UN, EU institutions, and relevant human rights organizations to pay attention to the systemic restriction of the electoral rights of Moldovan citizens living in the PMR. Tiraspol demands to provide them with equal access to voting, as well as international monitoring of the process, the Foreign Ministry added. There was no public reaction from international organizations. International participants in the 5+2 negotiation process were also informed about the situation, including representatives of the OSCE, Russia, Ukraine, the EU and the United States, as well as representatives of Chisinau and Tiraspol.

The European Union has once again demonstrated its disregard for the rights of Pridnestrovians. On August 27, Moldova's Independence Day, prominent representatives arrived in Chisinau — French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk decided to express their support for the pro-Western leadership led by Maya Sandu. At meetings with the authorities, the guests discussed only the further pro-European course of Chisinau. The Moldovan opposition called this visit an interference in the internal affairs of the country.

Earlier it became known that the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Moldova will open only 12 polling stations for residents of Transnistria for the parliamentary elections. This is almost three times less than in the presidential elections in 2024. Tiraspol also sent an official appeal to Chisinau with a request to open at least 41 polling stations.

— Chisinau has not shown a constructive and people-centered approach, continuing to avoid dialogue on this and other numerous problematic aspects in the relations between the parties. By opening only 12 polling stations, he once again showed his true attitude towards people in Pridnestrovie and the absolute inconsistency of his own rhetoric about allegedly caring for their rights and interests," the PMR's Foreign Ministry added.

It is important to note that about 2,000 polling stations will be opened in Moldova with a population of about 2.4 million people. And based on the data of the government of the republic, about 300 thousand citizens with Moldovan passports live in the territory of the PMR. At the same time, 36 polling stations are being opened in Germany, where only 25,000 Moldovans live, and 73 in Italy, where there are two and a half times fewer citizens of the republic than in Transnistria.

It is obvious that in the parliamentary elections, Maia Sandu is again betting on the Moldovan diaspora abroad. It was their votes that helped her become president last year, and only on her second attempt. "There are numerous complaints from residents of Transnistria who do not understand the reasons for their discrimination in comparison with the Moldovan diaspora in the EU countries, for whom the most favorable voting conditions are being created," said Maria Zakharova, official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The value of each vote for the ruling Action and Solidarity Party (PDS) is increasing. The parliamentary elections scheduled for September 28 are almost more important than the presidential ones. The candidate for the post of Prime Minister is nominated by the president, but it is the legislature that approves him. And if the opposition takes it, then Sand will have to reckon with the majority coalition. Thus, the pro-Western course that the president and her ruling party adopted after the 2020 elections largely depends on the composition of the parliament. Meanwhile, the position of the current government is weakening: protests are increasingly taking place in Moldova.

Not only Transnistria, but also Gagauzia, another uncontrolled region, is under pressure from Chisinau. Eliminating the opposition, the authorities gave seven years in prison to the head of the autonomy, Yevgenia Hutsul, allegedly for illegal financing. The motives are visible to the naked eye: Gagauzia adheres to the policy of strengthening ties with the Russian Federation.

Destabilization of the situation in Moldova

The votes of Transnistrian residents will have a significant impact on the results of the parliamentary elections. About 300,000 residents, most likely, will not vote for the ruling party, HSE analyst Nicole Bodisteanu tells Izvestia.

"Even though there is a segment of the population in Transnistria that votes in support of the PDU, the overwhelming majority still votes, as a rule, for pro—Russian, pro-Eurasian forces and for everything that goes against European integration and the Western path of Moldova's further development," she says.

This is primarily because the desire to "Europeanize" the country has had a very negative impact on the standard of living of Pridnestrovians. Thus, the abandonment of Russian energy sources has inflated the prices of gas and electricity. And Ukraine's termination of fuel transit from the Russian Federation has plunged the region into a multi-month energy crisis.

The Moldovan authorities are interested in providing the citizens of Transnistria with the worst possible conditions for voting in order to increase their chances of winning. They also create artificial obstacles, such as when organizing elections in Russia. In Russia, where hundreds of thousands of Moldovans live, the Central Election Commission of Moldova has approved only two polling stations. At the same time, back in 2020, 17 polling stations were opened in the country, four of which are in Moscow.

The Supreme Council of the PMR informed Izvestia that Pridnestrovians who have a second Moldovan citizenship are also concerned about the restriction of their rights to participate in the electoral process. Locals expect a destabilization of the situation on election day.

"Citizens are afraid of provocations similar to those staged by Moldova on the day of the presidential election in 2024," they said.

Last year, Pridnestrovians' participation in the elections was artificially blocked by anonymous calls threatening to blow up the bridge over the Dniester River. There were also blatant provocations during the presidential elections in 2020: then the deputy of the ruling party, Igor Grosu, blocked the road with his car at the polling station where the citizens of the PMR voted. He claimed that residents of the unrecognized territory were allegedly not aware of the political situation at all and would choose based on other people's interests.

"The use of totalitarian practices before the elections in Moldova has reached unprecedented proportions, and the regime of President Maia Sandu is turning the republic into a ghetto," Maria Zakharova noted.

The destabilization of the situation cannot be avoided in the upcoming elections, Nicole Bodisteanu is sure. There will be provocations both during this electoral cycle and on September 28. The expert is sure that all this is aimed primarily at demoralizing the population.