Monitoring of the General Local Elections of 20 October 2019 from the Perspective of the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities

Monitoring period: 18 October 2019 – 13 November 2019

Project funded by the Project co-financed by Sweden European Union

The Report was produced as part of the Project ‘Civil Society Advocacy for Inclusive and Fair Elections in , Compliant with EU and OSCE/ODIHR Recommendations and Human Rights Commitments’, implemented by the East Europe Foundation (EEF) in partnership with the ‘Partnership for Development’ Center (PDC), Piligrim Demo, and Tarna Rom, funded by the European Union and co-funded by Sweden. The opinions expressed herein belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the donors’ view.

Chisinau, 13 November 2019 TABLE OF CONTENS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...... 4

METHODOLOGY...... 6

INTRODUCTION...... 7

KEY FINDINGS ON THE FOLLOWING: I. Degree of persons with disabilities’ inclusion by the election candidates in the election campaign. Representation of persons with disabilities on the lists of candidates and their involvement in election campaign activities...... 9

II. Accessibility of the information on election candidates’ platforms for persons with mobility, sensory, mental, intellectual disabilities...... 13

III. Coverage by the election candidates’ platforms of the issues faced by the persons with disabilities...... 19

IV. Physical and information access of polling stations...... 20

V. Financial matters of persons with disabilities’ inclusion in election processes...... 25

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS...... 27

ANNEX 1. Request for access to information of public interest – ECC Ceadir- Lunga No 36/2, ECC ATU Gagauzia and Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova………………………………….………………………………………………….…..….29

ANNEX 2. Request for access to information of public interest – Broadcasting Council of the Republic of Moldova...... 30

ANNEX 3. Request for access to information of public interest – National Social Insurance House...... 31

ANNEX 4. Template of Request for access to access information of public interest – Political parties in the Republic of Moldova…………………………………………………..………....32

ANNEX 5. Template of Request for access to information of public interest – Level I and level II public administration

ANNEX 6. Audit of the accessibility of political party headquarters in the Republic of Moldova...... 34

ANNEX 7. Monitoring of Ungheni EOPS accessibility……..…....54

ANNEX 8. Information on the number of pension beneficiaries for persons with disabilities and the number of social allowance beneficiaries for persons with disabilities (as of 1 October 2019)……………………………………..…...55

ANNEX 9. Answer of the Broadcasting Council (4 November 2019)….………………..…57

ANNEX 10. Answer of Duruitoarea Noua Mayoralty (Riscani district) (29 October 2019)……………………………………………………………………………………….59

ANNEX 11. Answer of Pociumbeni Mayoralty (Riscani district) (30 October 2019).60

ANNEX 12. Answer of Straseni Mayoralty (30 October 2019)..………..61

ANNEX 13. Answer of Singerei District Council (31 October 2019)…………….…63

ANNEX 14. Answer of Falesti Mayoralty (31 October 2019)…………………..65

ANNEX 15. Answer of Vulcanesti Mayoralty (1 November 2019)……………….66

ANNEX 16. Answer of Riscani District Council (1 November 2019)…………………..67

ANNEX 17. Answer of Straseni District Council (1 November 2019)…………………69

ANNEX 18. Answer of Chisinau General Department of Architecture, Urban Planning and Land Relations (4 November 2019)………………………………………………71

ANNEX 19. Answer of Cricova Mayoralty (5 November 2019)……..……………73

ANNEX 20. Answer of Orhei General Department of Social Assistance and Family Protection (6 November 2019)………………………………………………………….………..74

ANNEX 21. Answer of Edinet District Council (7 November 2019)…………….……..76

ANNEX 22. Answer of Telenesti District Council (8 November 2019)………………..78

ANNEX 23. Answer of Falesti General Department of Social Assistance, Family and Child Protection (12 November 2019)………………………………………………..80

ANNEX 24. Answer of Glodeni District Council (12 November 2019)………….…….82

ANNEX 25. Answer of Nisporeni District Council (12 November 2019)……….…….85

ANNEX 26. Answer of Chisinau General Department of Social Assistance and Healthcare (13 November 2019)…………………………………………………………86

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This Report on the monitoring of the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the general local elections of 20 October 2019 was produced as part of the Project ‘Civil Society Advocacy for Inclusive and Fair Elections in Moldova, Compliant with EU and OSCE/ODIHR Recommendations and Human Rights Commitments’, implemented by the East Europe Foundation (EEF) in partnership with the ‘Partnership for Development’ Center (PDC), Piligrim Demo and Tarna Rom, and INFONET Alliance, funded by the European Union and co-funded by Sweden. The data included in the Report were gathered during 18 October – 13 November 2019.

The Observation Mission for the General Local Elections of 20 October 2019 from the perspective of the inclusion of persons with disabilities consists of a group of relevant experts, including persons with disabilities, and covers geographically five administrative units (Edinet and Causeni districts; ATU Gagauzia, Balti and Chisinau municipalities).

The main findings: - According to the updated data, 20 persons with disabilities stood as candidates at the General Local Elections of 20 October 2019. They have the following profile:  10 women and 10 men,  7 from urban regions and 13 from rural regions,  2 candidates for mayor, 20 candidates for local councilor, and 4 for district councilor,  7 have previously ran, and 3 of them have worked as local or district councilor,  13 ran for the first time,  20 candidates had mobility disabilities (!), 7 of whom were wheelchair users, - 2 independent candidates and 18 on party lists

- The following results were registered after the elections:  9 persons became local councilors, of whom: . 7 women and 2 men, . 2 wheelchair users, . 1 independent candidate and 8 on party lists, . 1 public dignitary resigned.

- The Observation Mission identified trends to marginalise the candidates with disabilities by placing them on non-eligible positions. In Ceadir-Lunga, a person with disabilities was initially placed by PSRM on an eligible position. Later, the election candidate modified the initial list, placing this person after the 20th position. In Glodeni, after being placed by ACUM Bloc on the last position on the list, a person with disabilities did not agree with the positioning and withdrew from the race.

- In addition to the less favourable treatment identified in these cases, the Mission found a systemic breach characterised by the lack of real-time information on the election candidates included in the lists, their initial positioning and subsequent changes, as well as the issue of limited access to the information on candidate profile, which is an important prerequisite for free and fair elections.

- Though there is some progress in ensuring the access of persons with sensory disabilities to election information, this access is still limited. The information broadcast by certain TV channels was accessible to the persons with sensory disabilities. Thus, during the monitoring period, TV Moldova 1, TVR Moldova, Media TV Cimislia, BTV Balti broadcast election debates translated into the sign language. The Central Electoral Commission is the only state authority that developed and broadcast videos (1 video (a total of 10 during the entire election period)) translated into the sign language (SL). No election candidate developed and disseminated videos in a format accessible for persons with sensory disabilities.

- Political party headquarters, their representative offices in the territory, and the polling stations remain largely inaccessible to the persons with disabilities. The accessibility of access ways and of building entries where political parties are located is poor. Out of 104 offices assessed in 23 towns in Moldova, only 6 are accessible, 15 are partially accessible, and 83 are inaccessible. EOPSs’ accessibility remains a serious unsolved issue on the agenda of public authorities. Accessibility is one of the fundamental principles of the UN Convention and a prerequisite for the ability of persons with disabilities to enjoy other rights in various aspects of life. Accessibility issues were also found in the reports submitted by other organisations that monitored the local elections in Moldova. Most of the observations relate to the physical accessibility of persons with disabilities to the election process and to the insufficient accessibility of the polling stations.

- ‘Unghiul’ newspaper offered a quick and effective assessment of the accessibility of 8 polling stations, informing the general public and pressuring the local public administration in Ungheni.

- Election information was inaccessible for persons with intellectual disabilities. Thus, the information broadcast by TV channels and the candidates that participated in TV election debates used a language based on geopolitical, abstract issues, large numbers – i.e. messages that persons with intellectual disabilities hardly perceive.

- Analysis of the extent to which problems encountered by persons with disabilities were addressed in the election candidates’ political programs reveals that this group of persons is not a priority for election candidates. In most of the cases, this area is covered in general terms.

- Persons with disabilities were sporadically involved in the election monitoring. On the election day, the Election Observation Mission of ‘Social- Asist’ NGO in Dubasari district included 5 self-representatives/persons with disabilities, of which 4 men and 1 woman. METHODOLOGY

The Observation Mission for the General Local Elections of 20 October 2019 consists of a group of experts covering a number of: - areas of expertise (vision, mobility, intellectual and psychosocial disabilities; accessible infrastructure; reasonable accommodation; sign language, etc.) - geographical regions in Moldova (Edinet and Causeni districts; ATU Gagauzia, Balti and Chisinau municipalities).

Persons with mobility (including wheelchair users) and visual disabilities participate as monitors and experts.

The Monitoring Mission was conducted by: - Participating in public events organised by election candidates, - Organising civic and electoral education events, - Communicating directly with voters and persons with disabilities, - Communicating with experts and representatives of civil society, - Reviewing the election platforms and materials developed and disseminated by election candidates, - Reviewing the web pages of political parties and election candidates, - Viewing online or the video recordings of election events and debates, - Conducting field visits and observations, - Taking over photos, - Etc.

Other actions and areas of monitoring are not found in this Report due to the failure to collect initial data and to apply methodological tools.

INTRODUCTION

The estimated number of persons with disabilities in the Republic of Moldova is 180.6 thousand persons (2017), of whom about 170 thousand are voters, i.e. 5.1% of the total population. According to the estimates of the World Health Organization (2011), this figure is much higher – 15% of the world’s population.

By Government Decision No 723 of 8 September 2017, the Republic of Moldova adopted the 2017-2022 National Program on Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. It provides for a cross-sectoral approach to the social inclusion of persons with disabilities and ensuring the observance of their fundamental rights on equal footing with the other citizens in all areas of social life in order to implement the recommendations made by international experts as regards the observance of the rights of persons with disabilities in Moldova. The ratification of the UN Convention by the Republic of Moldova marks a turning point in the approach to disability, not only in terms of social protection and health status, but also in terms of promoting and observing the human rights, social inclusion, human values, and gender equality.

In their reports, the national and international Observation Missions for the 24 February 2019 Parliamentary Elections focused mainly on the issue of polling station accessibility.

Thus, ENEMO observers (European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations) reported minor procedural gaps during the day, especially related to... the inappropriate set up of polling stations, inaccessibility of polling stations for persons with disabilities, since most of them were assessed as inaccessible or difficult to access by voters with mobility impairments. Over 70% of the polling stations visited by ENEMO observers during the election day had no appropriate facilities to enable the persons with mobility impairments to access the polling stations. At the same time, 70% of the visited polling stations had magnifiers for voters with mild visual impairments and 58% had Braille templates that would allow visually impaired voters to cast their vote independently. In addition, four polling stations had sign language interpreters to assist the voters with hearing impairments (p. 16).

The observers of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights noted that 66% of the monitored polling stations were not accessible for the persons with physical disabilities (p. 23) and recommended the following – Authorities should consider the opportunity to take additional measures to make fully and independently all polling stations accessible for the voters with disabilities (p. 30).

According to Promo-LEX Observation Mission, although the election bodies were helped by the LPAs in charge of making available to PS easily accessible premises for the persons with mobility disabilities, the elderly, and families with children in strollers, 13% out of 1 875 visited polling stations (PS) were located in places difficult to access (there was no paved roads to the PS, hence the paths were muddy), which created difficulties not only for the persons with disabilities, but also for the elderly or the families with children in strollers. 2% were located on the 2nd floor. Only 24% of the PS had access ramps, and 5% – special facilities. At the same time, Promo-LEX Observation Mission expressed its concern about the situation of ensuring PS accessibility, especially when EOPS members justified the lack of minimum access facilities, either by the fact that persons with disabilities were voting at home, or that there were no person with mobility disabilities in the community (p. 26-27).

During May-August 2019, an Observation Mission concluded the audit of the accessibility of 612 EOPS (https://www.md.undp.org/content/moldova/ro/home/library/effective_governa nce/acces-egal-pentru-toi-in-seciile-de-votare.html) from a geographic area where 149 mayoralties operate, which cover an area of 5 635 km² (16.6% of the total territory of the Republic of Moldova), with a population of 1 335 000 inhabitants (40% of the total population) and to which 1 112 700 voters are assigned (39.3% voters from the Republic of Moldova, except those who legally emigrated abroad and the citizens with the right to vote registered on the left bank of Nistru River, provisionally outside the sovereign control of the constitutional authorities of the Republic of Moldova).

Out of those 612 polling stations assessed by this study, only 6 were accessible (1%), 174 – partially accessible, and 432 – inaccessible. Accessibility is one of the fundamental principles of the UN Convention and a prerequisite for the ability to enjoy other rights in various aspects of life. The analysis of the current situation of the rights of persons with disabilities denotes a number of challenges regarding the effective and full participation in the public and political life of this group.

To address these challenges and increase the social inclusion of persons with disabilities, these reports on election monitoring from the perspective of persons with disabilities plan a complex assessment approach focusing on piloting innovative techniques and tools.

KEY FINDINGS ON THE FOLLOWING: i. Degree of persons with disabilities’ inclusion by the election candidates in the election campaign ii. Accessibility of the information on election candidates’ platforms for persons with mobility, sensory, mental, intellectual disabilities iii. Coverage by the election candidates’ platforms of the issues faced by the persons with disabilities iv. Physical and information access of polling stations I. Degree of persons with disabilities’ inclusion by the election candidates in the election campaign. Representation of persons with disabilities on the lists of candidates and their involvement in election campaign activities

According to the updated data, 20 persons with disabilities stood as candidates at the General Local Elections of 20 October 2019. They have the following profile: - 10 women and 10 men, - 7 from urban regions and 13 from rural regions, - 1 female and 1 male candidate for mayor, 20 candidates for local councilor, and 4 for district councilor, - 7 have previously ran, and 3 of them have worked as local or district councilor, - 13 ran for the first time, - 20 candidates had mobility disabilities (!), 7 of whom were wheelchair users, - 2 independent candidates and 18 on party lists: o ‘Party of the Socialists from the Republic of Moldova’ Political Party – 7 persons, o ‘ACUM DA Platform and PAS’ Electoral Bloc – 3 persons, o Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova – 2 persons, o ‘Our Party’ Political Party – 2 persons, o ‘Democracy at Home’ Political Party – 1 person, o Ecologist Green Party – 1 person, o – 1 person, o ‘SOR’ Party – 1 person. - Geographic area where they ran: o Edinet district – 4 persons, o Chisinau municipality – 3 persons, o ATU Gagauzia – 2 persons, o Causeni district – 2 persons, o Leova district – 2 persons, o Hincesti district – 1 person, o Glodeni district – 1 person, o Cantemir district – 1 person, o Straseni district – 1 person, o Rezina district – 1 person, o Soldanesti district – 1 person, o Orhei district – 1 person.

During 1-5 November 2017, a survey was conducted among those 17 persons with disabilities who participated in the election campaign:

The following results were registered after the elections: - 9 persons became local councilors, of whom: o 7 women and 2 men, o 2 wheelchair users, - 1 independent person and 8 on party lists: o ‘Party of the Socialists from the Republic of Moldova’ Political Party – 5 persons*, o ‘ACUM DA Platform and PAS’ Electoral Bloc – 1 person, o Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova – 1 person, o ‘Our Party’ Political Party – 1 person, - Geographic area where they will work as local councilors: o Edinet district, o Causeni district, o Leova district, o Hincesti district, o Straseni district, o Rezina district, o Soldanesti district. *One public dignitary resigned.

The surveyed persons with disabilities mentioned the following key issues and barriers:

The publication of the results revealed certain extremely serious issues:

A. As many as 15 persons on the list of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova were elected at Ceadir-Lunga Local Council. One person with disabilities (wheelchair user) held an eligible position on the list (https://ceadir-lunga.md/novosti/item/2971-spisok-kandidatov-ot-psrm), but after the results were published she was surprised to find that she was no longer on the list of elected local councilors (http://www.gagauz.md/2019/10/96818/).

To clarify this situation, INFONET Alliance sent a request for access to information of public interest to ECC Ceadir-Lunga No 36/2, ECC ATU Gagauzia, CEC (Annex 1).

Ceadir-Lunga Mayoralty (?!) – (ECC Ceadir-Lunga No 36/2 closed and the answer had to be received from ECC ATU Gagauzia), by its note No 3290 of 25 October 2019, provides details on the change of the list of candidates from the Socialist Party of the Republic of Moldova (Decision No 38 of 11 October 2019).

All actions took place in accordance with the applicable law and by the set deadline. The problem is that the Socialist Party of the Republic of Moldova (directly and/or through its territorial organisation)... failed to inform the candidate about the changes made. Was the party supposed to inform her or not? There is no legal norm to this end, and it’s probably a matter that relates to the ethnics and the communication process within the party.

B. However, this case poses a breach at the information system’s level. After the publication of Decision No 38 of 11 October 2019, ECC Ceadir-Lunga No 36/2 was to: o publish this Decision, o publish this Decision on www.cec.md website (via ECC Ceadir-Lunga No 36/2, ECC ATU Gagauzia or CEC operator, depending on job description, time period, rules and internal communication tools of election organisers).

Note that this information was missing on Central Electoral Commission’s website (https://a.cec.md/ro/hotariri-6144.html) and at the time when this Report was published. In this context, it’s natural to generalise and to extrapolate this case at country level and to ask ourselves: ‘Who and how did inform the voters about the changes made?’; ‘Is it possible that the voters voted for a certain list, for a certain candidate or certain candidates on the list?’; ‘Can an election candidate use the “charitable perception of persons with disabilities” to manipulate the voters?’; etc.

Possibly, these details are not quite important for a party or a system. However, this is without doubt discriminatory for a person with disabilities, who sincerely involves in this process and campaigns, including on the communication channels of persons with disabilities. This case requires a deep and complex analysis, which could further identify and eliminate the factors that caused the discrimination. II. Accessibility of the information on election candidates’ platforms for persons with mobility, sensory, mental, intellectual disabilities

Accessibility for the persons with hearing disabilities:

Monitoring of the meetings of the Broadcasting Council of the Republic of Moldova During the public meeting of 30 October 2019 it was mentioned that ‘“Moldova-1” and “Moldova-2” public TV channels ensured the accessibility of persons with hearing disabilities by interpreting and synchronously subtitling the newscasts into the sign language. “Prime” and “Canal 2” TV channels failed to ensure the right of access to broadcasting media services for persons with vision or hearing impairments during the period 14-20 October. “Moldova-1” and “Radio Moldova” organised election debates for the new Parliamentary Elections in the single-member constituencies Nos 17, 33, 48, and 50 and for the General Local Elections of 20 October 2019, while the public TV channel translated all these debates into the sign language’.

Also, the Report on the results of monitoring of how ‘Moldova-1’, ‘Moldova-2’, ‘Radio Moldova’, ‘Radio Moldova Youth’, ‘Prime’ and ‘Canal 2’ national broadcasters covered the election campaign during the new Parliamentary Elections in the single-member constituencies Nos 17, 33, 48, and 50 and for the General Local Elections of 20 October 2019 in terms of observing the election and broadcasting laws during 10 – 20 October 2019 found that, during the period of 14 – 20 October 2019, ‘Prime’ and ‘Canal 2’ failed to ensure the accessibility of the persons with hearing disabilities to the news programs. ‘Therefore, Article 16(3)(a) and (b) of the Audiovisual Media Services Code, which states: ‘As part of TV services, national and regional providers of broadcasting media services shall: a) interpret or synchronously subtitle at least one news program of the daily airtime into the sign language; b) interpret or synchronously subtitle broadcasting programs of major importance, entirely or their summaries, into the sign language’ is relevant (http://www.audiovizual.md/files/RAPORT%203%20%2810- 20%20octombrie%202019%29_0.pdf – p. 95 and 110).

Request for access to information of public interest On 25 October 2019, we sent a request to the Broadcasting Council of the Republic of Moldova expressing our concerns about the cancellation of translations into the sign language at Prime, Canal 1, Canal 2, CTC and Домашний TV channels and requested access to the following information of public interest:  Did the above-mentioned broadcasters notify the Broadcasting Council about cancelling the translation of the TV programs into the sign language? If yes, what were the grounds?  Did the Broadcasting Council develop monitoring reports after 10 October 2019? If yes, what are the results? Did these reports also monitor the observance by the broadcasters of the law on the access of persons with disabilities to TV programs?  Were there during 2018-2019 any specific reports on the monitoring of the enforcement and observance of BCC Decision No 16/101 of 21 July 2017 on the Access of Persons with Hearing and Visual Impairments to the Broadcasting Program Services?  Did the Broadcasting Council analysed and discussed with broadcasters, experts and final beneficiaries the possibility of introducing mandatory translation (not just as an alternative option with synchronous subtitling) of TV programs at public and national TV channels into the sign language?

On 4 November 2019, the Broadcasting Council came up with an answer (via Posta Moldovei) related to the monitoring reports previously developed; Decision No 54/147 of 31 October 2019 on public warnings of ‘Prime’ and ‘Canal 2’ TV channels for violating Article 16(3) a) of the Audiovisual Services Code; informing about BC meeting of 15 November 2019 where the results of the monitoring of ‘CTC Mega’ and ‘Familia Domashniy’ TV channels will be discussed (Annex 9).

Translation of CEC official press releases On 20 October 2019, two translators of sign language worked at CEC. The official press releases from 8.00, 13.00, 18.00, and 22.00 were live-streamed, with translation into the sign language at the communication channels of the Deaf Association of the Republic of Moldova.

TV programs and newscasts translated into the sign language TV Moldova 1, Moldova 2, TVR Moldova TV channels broadcast newscasts translated into the sign language. A number of TV channels broadcast newscasts with subtitles. During the monitoring period, TV Moldova 1, TVR Moldova, BTV Balti broadcast election debates translated into the sign language.

Videos developed by parties and election candidates During the monitoring period, no party or election candidate developed and disseminated videos translated into the sign language.

Videos developed and translated into the sign language by the Central Electoral Commission The Central Election Commission developed and broadcast another video translated into the sign language, being the only institution that implements this good practice:  Video No 5 – https://youtu.be/LOxSr03WuQY.

The videos are broadcast by a number of TV channels with national coverage.

Videos developed and broadcast at regional TV channels BTV channel (Balti) developed and broadcast one TV program of civic and electoral education translated into the sign language.

Note that this initiative was carried out as part of a partnership between the NGOs and the media and implemented with the support of external donors – ‘From an informed and accessible vote towards the social inclusion of persons with disabilities in the Republic Moldova’ Project implemented with the support of Promo-LEX Association, from the funds of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Accessibility for persons with intellectual disabilities: The analysis of the observance of the right of persons with intellectual disabilities to free vote during the election campaign for the General Local Elections of 20 October during the period 18 October – 4 November 2019 found the following:

The candidates that participated in TV election debates used a language based on geopolitical, abstract issues, large numbers – i.e. messages that need to be deduced or that are hardly to perceive by persons with intellectual disabilities, and less individual facts and solutions that would allow this group to feel included.

Likewise, the leaflets or flyers of the election candidates had, in most of the cases, complicated phrases and hidden messages.

It is important to appreciate the possibility to be helped by a trusted individual to vote. The persons with intellectual disabilities, who are facing difficulties in applying the stamp or who cannot read the name of the candidate for whom they’d like to vote, appreciate this help.

There were cases when persons with intellectual disabilities didn’t go to vote because they were afraid they wouldn’t make it at the polling station, and the lack of a companion or relative, who would take the lead in offering help, was the reason they didn’t vote.

Since they already knew how to vote, those who went to the first round of elections said they would go to the second round too.

During the second round of the elections the election candidates also failed to visit the placement centers or neuropsychiatric institutions to inform the voters living there.

The persons with intellectual disabilities in certain rural communities were interested in the election candidates only during the election day. All the participants in the focus groups piloting the ‘Voter Guidelines for Local Elections’ (‘easy to read and easy to understand’ version) went to vote on 20 October 2019.

‘From an informed and accessible vote towards the social inclusion of persons with disabilities in the Republic Moldova’ Project developed and published the ‘Voter Guidelines for Local Elections’ (‘easy to read and easy to understand’ version) (http://comunicate.md/index.php?task=articles&action=view&article_id=10722.

The Guidelines published in an ‘easy to read and easy to understand’ version are an informational booklet meant to explain the local elections and the voting process with accessible words. Its adjustment to an easy to read and easy to understand language is a need whereby persons with intellectual and learning disabilities in the Republic of Moldova will be able to know and understand the local elections and how they can exercise their right to vote. The ‘easy to read and easy to understand’ method is used to adjust the information for a large group of beneficiaries: persons with intellectual disabilities, persons with learning disabilities, persons with reading difficulties, caused by factors other than deficiency (persons who speak other languages, immigrants, children). The key aspects of presenting the information in an ‘easy to read and easy to understand’ language relate to the use of simple words, observance of the spaces between rows, use of an easy to read font of at least 14 points and, most importantly, use of images that suggest the message content.

Note that the information from these Guidelines was checked by a group of 30 persons with intellectual disabilities and learning difficulties in the Republic of Moldova to see if it is easy to read and easy to understand. The number of voters with intellectual disabilities amounts to around 30-40 thousand persons (i.e. 2- 2.5% of the total number of voters, according to the World Health Organization estimates), and about 1 600 of them are placed in residential institutions. This group of voters did not show interest for the election candidates, thus, the publication comes to cover an informational gap.

These Guidelines were developed with the support of Promo-LEX Association, from the funds of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The opinions expressed herein belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the view of Promo-LEX and USAID.

Accessibility of the election process in CICDE trainings In the context of observing the fundamental human rights during the election process, implementing the international treaties on the rights of persons with disabilities and the Regulation on Voting Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities, the Centre for Continuous Electoral Training (CICDE) under the Central Electoral Commission developed and included in the training programs/teaching materials the following accessibility-related aspects:

 in the textbook for EOPS members, at Section 2 on members’ duties from the election period until the election day,  in the training program for EOPS members. Session No 4 is dedicated to preparing for voting and ensuring accessibility in the polling station. The training program also includes different case studies discussing situations involving persons with different types of disabilities,  Online course Access to the Election Process, on the e-learning platform (e- learning.cicde.md) where 44 participants are registered.

CICDE promotes non-restriction of rights, including ensuring equal electoral rights of persons with physical, mental and psychosocial disabilities. To the extent possible, it involves and conducts different workshops for persons with different types of disabilities.

Accessibility of information of public interest INFONET Alliance sent a number of requests for access to information of public interest to:

A. National Social Insurance House (Annex 3) Total number of persons with disabilities estimated on the basis of the beneficiaries of disability pensions and social allowances, as of 20 October 2019 (or at the last available date), by districts of the Republic of Moldova, Chisinau and Balti municipalities, and ATU Gagauzia.

According to request No II-03/04-7526 of 7 November 2019, NSIH stated that there are 176 853 persons with disabilities in the Republic of Moldova (as of 1 October 2019). The estimates built on the number of pension beneficiaries for persons with disabilities and the number of social allowance beneficiaries for persons with disabilities (as of 1 October 2019) (Annex 8).

B. Political parties in the Republic of Moldova (Annex 4) - Number of party members as of 1 January 2019, - Number of persons with disabilities, party members, - Numbers of persons with disabilities, registered as candidates for local councillor at 2019 GLE (of them, how many are party members and how many are independent candidates?), - Numbers of persons with disabilities, registered as candidates for mayor at 2019 GLE (of them, how many are party members and how many are independent candidates?), - Amount of money allocated by the party for the election campaign for the 2019 GLE, - Amount of money allocated by the party for ensuring the informational accessibility of persons with disabilities during the 2019 GLE, - Type of materials developed and disseminated in order to ensure the informational accessibility of persons with disabilities, - Number of persons with disabilities who donated for the party, if appropriate, - Total number of headquarters the parties manage at national, regional, local levels (of which the parties own and/or lease), - Did the parties assessed the accessibility of the buildings where their headquarters are located? If yes, how many headquarters are accessible, partially accessible, inaccessible to persons with disabilities?

We received two answers to this request: - National Liberal Party (from [email protected], 26 October 2019, 13.30) – ‘The information you requested is published on www.Dec.md, at “General Local Elections” section, and “Party Financing” section’, - Action and Solidarity Party (from [email protected], 28 October 2019, 15.20) – ‘We received your request. We will reply you after 3 November 2019’.

Note: Although 46 political parties are registered in the Republic of Moldova (www.asp.gov.md/ro/node/3664), the database is incomplete, only 24 parties have web sites and only 18 published emails to which we sent these requests for access to information of public interest.

C. Level-1 and level-2 Local Public Authorities in the Republic of Moldova (Annex 5)  Number of persons with disabilities (data disaggregated by sex, urban/rural area and type of disability) in the administered geographic area?  Are there any strategies/plans on implementing the 2017-2022 National Program for Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (NPSIPD) at local/district level (GD No 723 of 8 September 2019)?  What financial resources were planned for ensuring the access in public buildings in the district?  How many public buildings are in the district?  List of public buildings that became accessible in 2018-2019 (2% according to NPSIPD)  Which measures were taken to make the EOPS accessible?

At the time this report was developed, we received 17 answers:  Duruitoarea Noua Mayoralty (Riscani district) (Annex 10),  Pociumbeni Mayoralty (Riscani district) (Annex 11),  Straseni Mayoralty (Annex 12),  Answer of Singerei District Council (Annex 13),  Falesti Mayoralty (Annex 14),  Falesti Mayoralty (Annex 15),  Riscani District Council (Annex 16),  Straseni District Council (Annex 17),  General Department of Architecture, Urban Planning and Land Relations (Annex 18),  Mayoralty of Cricova Town (Annex 19),  Orhei General Department of Social Assistance and Family Protection (Annex 20)  Edinet District Council (Annex 21),  Telenesti District Council (Annex 22),  General Department of Social Assistance, Family and Child Protection (Annex 23),  Glodeni District Council (Annex 24),  Nisporeni District Council (Annex 25),  Chisinau General Department of Social Assistance and Healthcare (Annex 26),

The significant number of answers and their random formulation do not allow to process the data at this stage.

III. Coverage by the election candidates’ platforms of the issues faced by the persons with disabilities

The analysis was focused on two components:  the coverage of the problems encountered by persons with disabilities in the electoral programs of the candidates;  actions proposed the election candidates in order to solve these problems.

Analysis of the extent to which problems encountered by persons with disabilities were addressed in the election candidates’ political programs reveals that this group of persons is not a priority for election candidates. In most of the cases, this area is covered in general terms. Most electoral programs make general references to the problems of persons with disabilities, failing to state clearly whether persons with disabilities are taken into account when formulating objectives.

In some cases candidates include in their election platforms provisions that target directly persons with disabilities. In most of the cases it is about accessible infrastructure (ramps, public transport, sidewalk leveling etc.)

Election candidates have also included in their programs activities to support persons with disabilities (fundraising, enhanced social assistance, etc.), rather than focusing on social integration activities.

Monitoring the electoral spots of election candidates During the election campaign, most of the election candidates as well as the candidates for the position of mayor spoke in general terms about topics like accessibility and inclusion in their video spots. Also, its worth mentioning that not a single electoral spot produced or broadcast by the election candidates was accompanied by translation in the sign language.

Note that two election candidates expressly spoke about persons with disabilities in their election spots:

Victor Chironda (New Force) – in the election spot – ‘Sidewalks in Chisinau – a Race with Obstacles’ in which he warns that sidewalks from Chisinau are damaged, unsafe and real sources of obstacle for pedestrians, parents with strollers, people with reduced mobility and visual impairments. The spot presents various persons with visual impairments and persons in wheelchairs. (The spot is available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KukRoPBmkFU)

Ion Ceban (PSRM) – in the election spot – ‘The Chisinau of Tomorrow – Ring Road, Comfortable Public Transport and Multi-Storey Parking Lots’ – the candidate speaks about the repair of roads, sidewalks and underground passages, which should be comfortable for everyone, including for persons with special needs. The spot also contains images with a person in a wheelchair. (The spot is available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aBifOYs53E&list=PLkps27JVZu- lTGjTkp8kbBMOt_TLfAGHX&index=43)

The Central Electoral Commission produced and broadcast various general electoral spots in order to explain the voting rules and urged the people to vote. Note that the spots produced and broadcast by CEC were accompanied by translation in the sign language. Also, one spot was entirely about persons with disabilities and the protagonist was a person with mobility impairments who spoke about the issue of the access of persons with disabilities in public buildings and in public transport aiming at focusing the attention of voters and of election candidates on these topics. (The spot is available here https://a.cec.md/ro/aleg- sa-votez-2784_94617.html)

IV. Physical access to the polling stations and access to information

Accessibility of polling stations:

The accessibility of EOPS is still a major unsolved problem on the agenda of the authorities. Probably, the current situation can be best portrayed through this picture:

I came to vote by I don’t have access...

Accessibility is one of the fundamental principles of the UN Convention and a prerequisite for the ability of persons with disabilities to enjoy other rights in various aspects of life.

In situations when a person with disabilities (in this case, the user of a wheelchair) came to vote at the polling station, but the latter was not accessible, the election officials identified/proposed the following solutions: - ask volunteers to help the persons with disabilities to enter the EOPS, - allow to vote with the mobile ballot box at the entry of the EOPS, - allow to vote with the mobile ballot box at home. A certain fact is that people with disabilities are welcome to come to vote in the EOPS. The polling stations are located in public buildings. Actually, their accessibility provide the access to other fundamental rights for persons with disabilities. Thus, the vote within the EOPS is a form of ‘claiming the rights’ of persons with disabilities.

Cases of failure to ensure the access to the electoral process posted on social media

Bot on the election day and in the next period, persons with disabilities started to make posts on social media about the fact that they could not exercise their right to vote from different reasons.

Thus, Pavel C. from Singera, a person in wheelchair, pointed to the fact that he could not exercise his right to vote because the polling station where he had to vote was not accessible.

Mrs Ludmila G. from Edinet, also a wheelchair user, said that she could not vote on 20 October because the mobile ballot box was not brought to her house. Although she submitted a request to the Mayoralty and asked for a mobile ballot box at home, the people in charge said that they lost her request. Fortunately, she was able to exercise her right to vote on 3 November when the second round of elections was organised in Edinet.

Public initiative for assessing the EOPS accessibility The newspaper ‘Unghiul’ had an initiative that is worth to be mentioned. The local public administration from Ungheni (1) was asked to give an opinion on the accessibility of those 12 polling stations that were opened in the town for the local elections of 20 October 2019. The representatives of the authority mentioned that: ‘... those 12 polling stations have all the conditions and that no complaint was submitted so far. If would have been any, the authorities would have definitely solve it’. Next, the journalists went on the field and made pictures of the eight ramps installed at the polling stations (2) and an expert from the Association ‘MOTIVATIE’ of Moldova analysed the accessibility (3). As a result, the expert found that only 2 ramps were accessible, other 2 were partially accessible and the other 4 – inaccessible. The following deficiencies were identified: short ramp, too high angle, lack of railing, slippery pavement, high step in front of the door etc.

This initiative is a simple demonstration of the fact that local public authorities do not understand the terms ‘infrastructure accessibility’ (1) and/or do not apply/check the observance of the rules and standards when building something (2).

Accessibility of parties’ headquarters:

During the monitoring period (20 September – 5 November 2019) the level of accessibility in the building (slopes and stairs) and the accessibility of the entry door of 104 offices of political parties in 23 (twenty three) towns in the Republic of Moldova were assessed. Results of audit of the headquarters/offices of political parties

No Settleme Audited Accessible* Partially Inaccessibl nt headquarters * accessibl e * e 1. Balti 7 - 2 5 2. Telenesti 3 1 - 2 3. Singerei 2 - 1 1 4. Glodeni 4 - 1 3 5. Rezina 3 - - 3 6. Stefan 5 1 - 4 Voda 7. Ialoveni 7 - - 7 8. Cantemir 5 - 1 4 9. Causeni 7 - 1 6 10 Falesti 3 - 1 2 . 11 Leova 4 - 1 3 . 12 Nisporeni 5 - - 5 . 13 Ocnita 5 - - 5 . 14 Calarasi 3 - - 3 . 15 Cimislia 1 - - 1 . 16 Edinet 5 1 2 2 . 17 Orhei 12 1 2 9 . 18 Vulcanesti 1 - - 1 . 19 Comrat 3 1 - 2 . 20 Ceadir 2 - 1 1 . Lunga 21 Ungheni 3 1 - 2 . 22 Soroca 1 - - 1 . 23 Chisinau 13 - 2 11 . TOTAL – 23 104 6 15 83 towns***

*The word ‘audit’ in this study means the accessibility of the entry in the building (slopes and stairs) (1) and the accessibility of the entry door (2).

Broadly interpreted, the concept ‘audit of the accessibility of a building’ involves the following factors that should be analysed when assessing the accessibility: - access ways to the building, - entry/entries in the building (slopes and stairs), - entry doors, and interior doors of the building, - halls, - lavatories, - rooms where the service is provided.

The Questionnaire Assessing the Accessibility of Buildings (p. 71-74), as well as the recent results of an audit of 612 EOPS the Republic of Moldova can be found in the study ‘Equal Access in the Polling Stations for Everyone’ (https://www.md.undp.org/content/moldova/ro/home/library/effective_governa nce/acces-egal-pentru-toi-in-seciile-de-votare.html).

**In this case, the rating ‘accessible’ is a relative one because it does not have enough information (private or rented headquarters (1), the accessibility of access ways to the building (2), halls (3), indoor lavatories (4) and rooms where services are provided (5).

***Pictures of political parties’ headquarters in every town (Annex 6).

Inclusion of people with disabilities in the electoral process reflected in the monitoring reports of other organisations

Promo-LEX Monitoring Mission

The Fifth Report of the Observation Mission for the general local and new parliamentary elections of 20 October 2019 published by the Promo-LEX Association mentions that out of 791 polling stations that were monitored on the election day, 453 (57%) were accessible for people with mobility impairments and 338 (43%) were inaccessible.

Source: https://promolex.md/16065-raportul-nr-5-misiunea-de-observare-a- alegerilor-parlamentare-din-24-februarie-2019-ziua-alegerilor/?lang=ro

ENEMO Monitoring Mission

According to the preliminary statements and conclusions of the International General Election Observation Mission, 20 October – Moldova 2019 (ENEMO) of 22 October 2019, about 59% of the polling stations visited by ENEMO observers in the election day did not have appropriate structures allowing them to facilitate the access of people with mobility impairments to the polling stations. Nonetheless, 27% of the polling stations had magnifiers for voters with visual impairments and 38% visited polling stations had Braille templates.

In various cases, the registered offices were not enough and in the majority of cases the premises were inaccessible for persons with disabilities, which limited their constitutional right to participate in the elections. The lack of accessible premises that allow to register the persons with disabilities that want to vote is against the international standards, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Moldova ratified in 2010.

Also, the ENEMO observers found the following: CEC took some measures as regards the participation of persons with disabilities in the election process, but more efforts are necessary to reach an appropriate level of access and participation of persons with disabilities in elections. Local NGOs organised empowering and training activities for voters with disabilities. Also, they found that the polling stations were considered by the observers as being slightly accessible for persons with disabilities in 41.4% of the monitored polling stations, while the access required minor assistance in 34.3% of the monitored polling stations. In 24.3% of the observed polling stations, the access of persons with disabilities were ranked as inadequate.

Source:http://enemo.eu/uploads/file- manager/STATEMENTOFPRELIMINARYFINDINGSANDCONCLUSIONS2ndround5No v.pdf

IDOM Observation Mission

The Report Monitoring the Observance of the Electoral Rights of Persons With Mental and Intellectual Impairments submitted by IDOM contains the following findings: Out of 2,333 persons with disabilities from state institutions, with the right to vote, only 1,123 persons voted at the elections of 20 October. The polling stations did not have access ramps for people in wheelchairs and in certain cases the polling station was located at the second floor of the building.

Source:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBmamEnw7sw&feature=share&fbcl id=IwAR2l1NJpN2DaWdzqTK9SODH9Y5XdGhLzjnB498XhwRcgLa17GbDX95UI328 &app=desktop

Inclusion of persons with disabilities in election observation missions

The civil association ‘Social-Asist’ from Dubasari district organised an election observation mission. The monitoring team, which comprised 30 members included 5 self-representatives/persons with disabilities, of which 4 men and 1 woman. We welcome this initiative. It not only opens the opportunity to get to know the election processes, but also promotes a pro-active behaviour of persons with disabilities in the political and public life in the Republic of the Republic of Moldova.

The activity in question was conducted under the project ‘Inclusive Involvement in Political Life Matters’, with the financial support of East Europe Foundation as part of the Project ‘Civil Society Advocacy for Inclusive and Fair Elections in Moldova, Compliant with EU and OSCE/ODIHR Recommendations and Human Rights Commitments’, funded by European Union and co-funded by Sweden.

V. Financial matters of persons with disabilities’ inclusion in election processes

INFONET Alliance formulated various questions on financial matters for political parties, which were transmitted through a request for access to information of public interest: - Amount of money allocated by the party for the election campaign for the 2019 GLE, - Amount of money allocated by the party for ensuring the informational accessibility of persons with disabilities during the 2019 GLE, - Type of materials developed and disseminated in order to ensure the informational accessibility of persons with disabilities, - Number of persons with disabilities who donated for the party, if necessary.

Unfortunately, no political party gave us an answer by the date when this report was published.

Cash flow

# Election candidate Income Expenses

1 Democratic Party of Moldova 1 864 166 1 864 166

2 Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova 368 708 368 708 4 Socialist Party of Moldova 0 0 5 Party of Law and Justice 4 597 4 597 7 ‘Speranţa-Надежда’ Movement of Professionals 9 916 9 911

8 Liberal Party 719 095 719 095 9 People’s 0 0 11 ‘Forta Noua’ [‘New Force’] Social-Political 103 550 103 470 Movement

12 Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova 6 566 916 6 566 916

13 Sor Party 4 210 180 4 210 167 14 Ecologist Green Party 36 500 35 882 16 Our Party 4 719 914 4 719 914 24 National Liberal Party 136 700 136 700

25 Union Save Bessarabia 157 800 157 181

27 Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova 3 250 400 3 242 989 29 ‘Patriots of Moldova’ Party 0 0 30 European Left’s Political Party 7 443 7 396

31 Antimafia Popular Movement 1 765 1 764 32 People’s Party from the Republic of Moldova 30 494 30 494 33 ‘Democracy at Home’ Party 41 000 41 000 36 Democratic Action Party 14 604 14 604 39 Romanian People's Political Party 142 500 141 988 41 Russian-Slavic Party from Moldova 0 0

43 People’s European Party of Moldova 366 975 366 967

44 National Unity Party 442 610 442 608 46 ‘People's Will’ Party 77 782 83 800 47 ‘ACUM DA Platform and PAS’ Electoral Bloc 2 688 598 2 688 598 Total 25 962 213 25 958 915

Source: http://alegeri.md/w/Alegerile_locale_generale_din_2019_%C3%AEn_Republica_ Moldova?fbclid=IwAR0O- PlH4etONJtN7QTPUizf_8bStaOpe4j8jZ5nZQnFNgSoUCXrL6f5aas

In the absence of some answers to the requests send to the political parties, it is very hard to monitor the elections from the point of view of inclusion and to say something about the amount allocated by the political parties in order to ensure the access to information of persons with disabilities during the 2019 GLE and/or the type of materials produced and broadcast in order to ensure the accessibility to information. Thus, we cannot identify the expenses of the political parties in terms of ensuring the access to information for persons with disabilities out of the total expenses.

Also, following the analysis of the financial statements of the political parties published on the website of Central Electoral Commission (https://a.cec.md/ro/sustinerea-financiara-a-concurentilor-electorali-6172.html) we cannot identify or deduce direct expenses made to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities. We recommend to include such a budget line in the future financial statements.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

 Analysis of the extent to which problems encountered by persons with disabilities were addressed in the election candidates’ political programs reveals that this group of persons is not a priority for election candidates. In most of the cases, this area is covered in general terms. Most electoral programs make general references to the problems of persons with disabilities, failing to state clearly whether persons with disabilities are taken into account when formulating objectives.  In some cases candidates include in their electoral platforms provisions that target directly persons with disabilities. In most of the cases it is about accessible infrastructure (ramps, public transport, sidewalk leveling etc.)  Election candidates have also included in their programs activities to support persons with disabilities (fundraising, enhanced social assistance, etc.), rather than focusing on social integration activities.  Review the websites of political parties, level one and two local public authorities, central authorities, Government institutions and agencies and ensure their accessibility in line with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG);  Develop the election candidates’ programs and materials in formats that are accessible for various types of disabilities;  Organise, by persons with disabilities and NGOs that promote their rights, advocacy activities targeted at representatives of political parties / election candidates in order for the latter to include disability-related topics on their political agenda (election simulation exercises, user safari, meetings at parties’ offices, meeting with voters, public debates at electoral TV shows etc.);  Assess the accessibility of all polling stations using a joint assessment tool, applied by CEC, organisations of persons with disabilities and organisations acting in the disability area, and enter the assessment results on the Accessibility Map;  Raise electoral officials’ awareness of special needs and train them how to provide correctly support to persons with disabilities during the election period, including on the Election day.  Involve persons with disabilities as national observers during the elections.  Carry out information campaigns / civic and electoral education activities for persons with disabilities, promote a pro-active behaviour of participating in the public and political life;  Media still promotes the mobile ballot box as a tool of increasing the elections’ accessibility for persons with disabilities, thus diverting the public opinion from the actual problem of inaccessible public buildings.  The mobile ballot box, as a tool of increasing the elections’ accessibility for persons with disabilities, covers only partially this gap and is a temporary solution.  The concept of accessibility is still poorly understood in Moldova, at all levels.  In most of the cases, the election candidates’ political programs address persons with disabilities from a charity, medical and social perspective, and to a lesser extent from a human rights perspective. They actually reflect the general perception existing in the society.

Recommendations for Central Public Authorities  Accelerate the implementation of the 2017-2022 National Program for Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities  Create a mechanism that would enforce strict compliance with the accessibility requirements for buildings of electoral offices.  Promote the mechanism of collecting the statistical data disaggregated by persons with disabilities (especially of data on the type of disability) level- 1 and level-2 LPAs, which will facilitate the development of efficient social policies at local level.  Establish a ‘system of alerts’ in the field of accessibility to report the irregularities related to the accessibility on the election day, which will allow the authorities to timely respond and take remedy measures.

Recommendations for CEC and CICDE  Train the election officials and the LPA representatives in the filed of accessibility.  Develop a new remote training course in the field of accessibility.  Train a group of persons with disabilities and promote them as election officials.

Recommendations for Local Public Authorities  Install mobile ramps in the institutions (EOPS) where the entries are not adapted or are inaccessible.  Avoid locating the EOPS in the basement or at the second floor (where it is impossible to use a detachable ramp).  Organise study and fact-finding visits in the field of ensuring the accessibility for LPAs officials.

Recommendations for Media  Cover in media the good practices in the field of accessibility, the pro-active behaviour and the involvement of persons with disabilities in the elections.  Focus in quality indicators and not on the quantity ones.  Organise trainings for journalists and approach the persons with disabilities from the perspective of human dignity and their valuable social role.  Cover in media the serious cases then the accessibility conditions are not observed.  Promote the concept ‘universal design’ and the ‘human-rights model’ – the belief that persons with special needs have the same rights like other persons and that the state should protect them.  Raise public awareness as regards the rights of persons with disabilities and their role in the society.