(UPDATE 12:30) The voters registered until now are 92, 380, reaching 14.67%. 

In Balti, 15,953 people participated in the voting, making up 15.16% of expected number. 

(UPDATE 12:00) 79,200 voters went to the polls until this hour, accounting for 12.53% of voters with voting rights in the capital.

(UPDATE 12:00) At Bălţi, 12,672 people were present at the ballot box, 12.05%.

(UPDATE 11:30) until 11:30, 66,977 citizens exercised the right to vote, which represents 10.58% of expected voters. 

(UPDATE 11:30) At this hour in Bălţi, the voter turnout is 11.44%.

(UPDATE 11:00) 54,117 voters have voted in Chisinau municipality, or 8.55% of expected voters. The participation rate of women against men is 51.88% - 48.12%.

(UPDATE 11:00) In Bălţi, 6,201 people, or 5.9%, were present at the ballot box. The most active are women, the participation rate being 54.01%, men- 45.99%.

(UPDATE 10:30) 43,461 voters went to the polls until this hour, that is, 6,87% of voters with the right to vote in the capital.

Up to this hour 6,201 voters came to the polls in Bălţi, or 5.9% of expected voters. 

(UPDATE 10:00) By 10:00, 31,121 voters came to the polls, or 4.92% of people on the base lists.

The highest presence is registered in the Botanica sector - 5.35% and the lowest in the suburbs - 4.14%.

Data provided by the CEC show that men are more active than women, with the ratio being 50.34% at 49.66%.

(UPDATE 09:30) 2,221 voters have cast their votes in Balti, accounting for 2.11 percent. 

(UPDATE 09:30) 22,533 voters went to the polls until this hour in Chisinau, 3.6% of expected voters.

(UPDATE 09:00) At the moment, 16,023 inhabitants of the Capital, 2.57 percent of expected voters, have presented at the polls. 

(UPDATE 08:32) Former Mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoacă casts his vote: I voted for a proper relationship of the mayor with his voters. That is why we came to the elections to put an end to usurpation and to continue the European development of Chisinau.

(UPDATE 08:26) According to the CEC, at 7:00, all 375 polling stations set up for this ballot were opened. The voting process started according to the electoral procedures stipulated in the regulation on the activity of the polling station electoral bureaus.

Altogether for the new local elections held today in 7 localities in the country, 749,272 voters were enrolled in the electoral rolls.

By 7:45 the voter turnout constituted:

Chişinău - 0.73%
Bălţi - 0,89%
Leuşeni, Hancesti district - 1.4%
Nemteni village, Hincesti district - 1.41%
Jora de Mijloc, Orhei district - 2.99%
Volovita, Soroca district - 1.52%
Pârlita, Ungheni district - 0.78%

The voting process started according to the established procedure, without incidents.

Today, local elections are taking place in Chisinau, Balti, Leuseni and Nemteni, Hincesti, Volovita, Soroca, Jora de Mijloc, Orhei rayon and Pirlitza, Ungheni district.

For the electoral race, the district electoral councils registered 30 candidates.

(UPDATE 07:25) Persons who, for reasons of health or other reasons, can not go to the polling station may vote at the place of their stay. On the election day, requests for a mobile ballot box may be made in writing until 15.00 if a medical certificate is presented.

(UPDATE 07:15) The polling stations have already opened their doors and are waiting for the voters.

(07:11) New local elections will be held today in seven localities in the country. Both the inhabitants of the capital and the city of Balti will vote for the future mayors.

For the elections to be considered valid, at least 25 percent of the number of people entered on the electoral roll must be at the polls.

If none of the 11 candidates accumulate at least half of the voters' votes, in two weeks, on June 3, the second round will take place.

According to the CEC, 22.5 million lei was allocated for the elections in Chisinau and Balti municipalities.

11 candidates craved the mayor's office of the capital, which remained free in February, after Dorin Chirtoaca's resignation. Most of them, namely 10, are members of political parties. Only one candidate runs independently.

The first in the ballot paper is the president of the Party Home Democracy, Vasile Costiuc. He is 36 years old, graduated from the faculty of history of the Ion Creangă Pedagogical University, and in 2011 he founded the his party.

Next on the list is PPDA leader Andrei Năstase. He is 42 years old, married and has three children. The profession is a lawyer. He started his politic career in 2015.

Another candidate for the mayor's office is Alexandr Roșco, a member of the Our House Moldova Party, who is a lawyer.

On behalf of the Liberal Party, former deputy and minister of the environment, Valeriu Munteanu, is running. He is 37, married and has four daughters. He has studied in Romania and is licensed in law.

The former PSRM municipal councilor, Ion Ceban, born in 1980, enrolled in the race. He graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science of the State University of Moldova and the Academy of Public Administration attached to the President of the Russian Federation. He is married and has two children.

Another registered candidate is Victor Strătilă, member of the Ecological Green Party. Previously, he served as Vice President of the National Integrity Council. Strătilă is 50 years old and is a legal practitioner.

Businesswoman Alexandra Can, wants to become mayor and deputy chairman of the National Liberal Party. She is an economist and in 1999 she held the position of Minister of Industry and Commerce.

The youngest candidate at the City Hall of Chisinau is Maxim Brăila, 25 years old. He was proposed by the People's Party of Moldova. At the age of 18 he ran for the position of counselor in the Chisinau Municipal Council, from the same party.

The only independent candidate is former interim mayor of the capital Silvia Radu. Born in 1972, Silvia Radu was president of Union Fenosa during the years 2008 - 2015 and participated in the presidential elections two years ago. She is married and has three children.

And the Russian-Slavic Party of Moldova proposed Alexandru Mîțu. He is originally from the Rezina district. Since 1995, he has settled in Russia, where he runs a construction company.

The last one in the ballot is the candidate from the National Unity Party, Constantin Codreanu, who since 2016 is a member of the Romanian Parliament. He is 36 years old and is a graduate of English and French Philology and is a Master in Social Sciences.

PUBLIKA.MD will follow all day the election and will come with information minute by minute.