CHISINAU. Oct 30 (Interfax) - Moldova's opposition Party of Socialists will not recognize the outcome of a referendum on Moldova's European integration, the party said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The party initially opposed the holding of "this illegal referendum being in flagrant contradiction with the country's Constitution, the Electoral Code and the recommendations of the Venice Commission", while the referendum created "knowingly unequal conditions for its participants," it said.
"The parties, which were registered with the option for voting 'no' [to Moldova's European integration], were not allowed to air visuals and had their printed copies of campaign materials seized. Meanwhile, the participation in the referendum and the option for voting 'yes' was promoted at public institutions, on public transport and even at educational institutions," it said.
"There were repeat violations on the day of voting," it said.
"Even under such conditions, the idea of holding the referendum turned out to be a complete failure," it said.
"Slightly over 45% of voters inside the country cast their votes in favor of amending the Constitution. At the same time, over 54% voted against it, and this does not include those who refused to participate in such lawlessness. The final positive outcome was achieved only thanks to the voting at polling stations in the United States and Canada. As a result, only 22.5% of all Moldovan citizens voted in favor of introducing European integration into the Constitution," it said.
The Party of Socialists "states the lack of consensus in Moldovan society regarding European integration at the cost of abandoning the country's sovereignty and especially the introduction of European integration into the Constitution as a national ideology, which is directly at odds with the text of the Fundamental Law itself," it said.
"In this regard, we deem the introduction of amendments to the Constitution unacceptable and illegal. We are urging the Party of Action and Solidarity to abandon this harmful initiative and stop exacerbating the split in society," it said.
The Socialists did not register to participate in the referendum campaign. They called for boycotting the referendum. The Central Elections Commission (CEC) said the voter turnout stood at 50.72% of the number of voters included in the voter lists. At least one third of voters need to vote in order to recognize the referendum as valid.
In total, 1,532,264 voters were handed ballots for the referendum, while 1,531,392 voters took part in the voting. Of the total 1,488,874 votes actually cast, 749,719 (50.35%) voted in favor of the country's accession to the European Union, while 739,155 (49.65%) voted against it. The difference is only 10,564 votes, or around 0.75%, which was made possible by Moldovan citizens who voted abroad. Over 180,235 voters who took part in the referendum voted for joining the EU at the polling stations abroad.
The Constitutional Court will consider the CEC's proposal to approve the referendum outcome at its session on Thursday.