Moldovan Central Electoral Commission did not authorize initiation of local referendum to recall mayor of Cosnita commune

The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has not authorized the initiation of the local referendum on recalling the mayor of Cosnita commune, eastern Dubasari district, rejecting the application to register the initiative group that was to support the organization of the plebiscite.

The decision was adopted during a today’s meeting, after examining the documents submitted by the initiators of the initiative group.

According to the CEC, following the verification of the submitted documents, it was found that the legal procedure for establishing the initiative group to support the initiation of the local referendum had not been observed.

Under Article 221 paragraph (1) of the Electoral Code and the Regulation on the establishment and registration of initiative groups, when the initiative to organize a local referendum belongs to citizens, the initiative group must be made of at least 20 voters from the concerned constituency.

At the same time, the group must be established at a citizens’ assembly attended by at least 30 persons with the right to vote.

Following the verification of the submitted documents, the Central Electoral Commission found that seven out of the 23 persons included in the composition of the initiative group were not included in the list of participants at the founding assembly held on 28 June, 2026.

Thus, the number of group members who met the conditions set by law was reduced to 16 persons, falling below the minimum threshold of 20 voters required for the registration of the initiative group. Under these circumstances, the Central Electoral Commission rejected the application for registration of the initiative group to support the initiation of the local referendum on recalling the mayor of Cosnita commune, Dubasari district.