Around 45 participants actively took part in a training aimed at discussing international standards and peculiarities of the national legislation concerning electoral dispute resolution ahead of the 2025 parliamentary election in the Republic of Moldova.

Administrative judges from the first instances, the Court of Appeals Centre and the Supreme Court of Justice, prosecutors from Chisinau and 12 other rayons, as well as a few dedicated staff of the Central Electoral Commission benefited from the expertise shared by a representative of the Venice Commission’s Secretariat, the Council of Europe consultant and the National Institute of Justice’s trainer. Topics addressed mainly included the European Court of Human Rights’ case-law in the electoral field, the relevant Council of Europe standards and guidelines concerning the right to vote and to stand for election, including the Venice Commission’s Interpretative Declaration of the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters as Concerns Digital Technologies and Artificial Intelligence, electoral thresholds, electoral deposits, excessive formalism in the registration of electoral candidates, freedom of opinion vs political and online advertising, postal voting litigation, oversight of electoral campaigns, proportionality of sanctions, etc.

The participants also exchanged on peculiarities of examination and settlement of electoral disputes in, between and during electoral campaigns, paid special focus on jurisdictional competence of the electoral management bodies and courts of law, lodging complaints and appeals, applicable deadlines and specific procedures laid down in electoral and administrative codes, burden and standard of proof in electoral cases, grounds for de-registration of electoral candidates and other topics.

Participants stated that such trainings help them to unify legal practices, better understand electoral management bodies’ acts and electoral procedures, and called for one more similar training in the preparation for the 28 September 2025 parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova.

The event was organised by the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau and the Venice Commission, in partnership with the National Institute of Justice, Central Electoral Commission and Centre for Continuous Electoral Training within the framework of the Project “Improving electoral practice in the Republic of Moldova (IEPRM) 2025–2028”, part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2025–2028 .