According to the Central Election Commission, voting is proceeding as usual, and polling stations will close at 9:00 p.m.
The referendum was initiated by the local council to gauge citizens’ opinions on changing the land use designation outside the town limits. Residents are asked to answer “YES” or “NO” to the following question: “Do you support a ban on changing the land use designation within the administrative boundaries of the Coșnița commune for the extraction of minerals within 1.2 km of the village boundaries of Coșnița and Pokhrebia?”
The issue of sand and gravel extraction in this area has been ongoing for a long time. In February, local residents and council members from Coșnița and Pyryta, including veterans of the Dniester conflict, sent a petition to President Maia Sandu demanding that work in the immediate vicinity of residential buildings be halted. Following this, on March 19, the government held an interagency meeting at which it was ordered to suspend the removal of topsoil and to review environmental permits. The Environmental Protection Inspectorate launched unscheduled inspections of two private companies extracting sand and gravel in this area.
