Moldovan President Expects Low Diaspora Turnout At Upcoming Election Due To COVID-19

(@FahadShabbir)

Moldovan President Expects Low Diaspora Turnout at Upcoming Election Due to COVID-19

Moldovan President Igor Dodon has said on Wednesday that he expects the turnout of citizens living abroad at the upcoming presidential election to be low due to the pandemic-related restrictions

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th October, 2020) Moldovan President Igor Dodon has said on Wednesday that he expects the turnout of citizens living abroad at the upcoming presidential election to be low due to the pandemic-related restrictions.

Moldova is set to hold a presidential election this coming Sunday.

"I think that in certain countries where the number of infected people is high � we see even quarantines and curfews in the European Union � ... the voter turnout of our citizens will be low," Dodon told Russia's Rossiya 24 channel.

During the last presidential election in 2016, the voter turnout in the Moldovan diaspora was around 140,000 citizens, or almost 10 percent of all voters, according to the president.

"I think the figure will be much smaller this year, chiefly because of the pandemic. But we have set more polling stations now than four years ago, so everyone was given the opportunity to come and vote," Dodon said, specifying that 130 polling stations will be opened abroad.

According to the president's estimate, around 400,000 Moldovan expats currently reside in Russia and another 350,000 in the European Union collectively.

Dodon will be running against seven other candidates, including former Prime Minister Maia Sandu.