During the period from July 20 to August 19, provided by the electoral legislation for the submission of applications for the registration of candidates for the position of deputy of the Parliament of RM, 50 applications were submitted to the Central Electoral Commission. To date, CEC has registered 21 contestants and candidates.
During the campaign period, the electoral legislation prohibits candidates from using administrative resources, including participating in or initiating infrastructure construction projects, making purchases at the expense of the state budget, using equipment, property and other state resources. State bodies and institutions may not transfer or provide state property or other advantages to electoral contestants, except on a contractual basis and on equal terms.
During this period, it is prohibited to hold concerts, contests, other events or shows with the participation of artists and creative groups both from the country and abroad. It is also forbidden to use slogans or other messages, to distribute materials with symbols of electoral competitors, as well as to participate in such events for the purposes of political campaigning. Electoral contestants may organize meetings with voters, and the authorities are obliged to ensure equal conditions for their conduct.
The CEC reminds that political advertising is prohibited during the campaign period and only campaigning by registered candidates is allowed.
The electoral threshold for getting into parliament is set: at least 7 per cent of votes for electoral blocs, at least 5 per cent for political parties, and a minimum of 2 per cent for independent candidates.
After August 29, candidates can no longer make changes to lists. Each list must contain at least 40 percent of persons of the other sex, and for every ten candidates there must be at least four persons of the other sex. There are 62 incumbent MPs on the lists of all contestants.
At the invitation of the CEC, electoral contestants and media representatives signed the Code of Conduct for the September 28, 2025 election campaign, committing themselves to “honesty, equal competition, objective voter information, prohibition of sexist language, hate speech and violence, as well as respect for electoral legislation and the right to vote.” Twelve candidates and contestants and only six media outlets have signed the code. The call to sign the Code of Conduct remains open to all candidates and media.
In order to organize and conduct the parliamentary elections on September 28, 2025, 2,274 polling stations have been set up throughout the territory of the Republic of Moldova and beyond. Of these, 1,961 polling stations will be opened in the country, while 301 will be opened for citizens abroad. The most polling stations abroad will be opened in Italy (75), Germany (36), France (26), Great Britain (24), Romania (23) and the USA (22). Two polling stations will be opened in the Russian Federation, both on the territory of the diplomatic mission in Moscow.
Twelve polling stations will be organized for voters from settlements on the left bank of the Nistru River, compared to 41 in the previous parliamentary elections. Thus, the number of polling stations for residents of the left bank is constantly decreasing: in 2019 – 47, in 2020 – 42, in 2021 – 41, at last year’s presidential elections – 30.
In addition, 2,606 citizens have applied to vote by mail, which are being verified. Last year, 1,809 ballots were printed for the six first-time voting by mail countries. This year, Moldovan citizens in Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the United States will be able to vote by mail. The largest number of applications was received from citizens in the USA (1399). However, the country itself may abandon the practice, as its president has said postal voting is vulnerable to corruption, according to CBS News. The issue will be dealt with by Moldova’s new ambassador to the United States, Vlad Culminschi, who recently presented his credentials.
Mihaela Duca-Angelic, head of the Promo-LEX analytical and research group, said:
“Even at the stage of partial implementation of voting by mail, we advocated for its universal application, so that all citizens have access to this method, regardless of their country of residence.”
The CEC decided differently.
This year’s elections will be observed by international experts, accredited observers from non-governmental organizations and diplomatic missions.
The first accredited international experts are the Supreme Election Council of Turkey, the Central Election Commission of Georgia and the Permanent Election Authority of Romania.
Accredited observers from non-governmental organizations: European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO), the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization.
Accredited observers from diplomatic missions: Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in the Republic of Moldova, Embassy of the Republic of Latvia in the Republic of Moldova and the Swiss Cooperation Office / Representative Office of the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation in the Republic of Moldova.
The deadline for submitting applications for accreditation of observers and/or confirmation of interpreters is September 21, 2025.
