CHISINAU (Sputnik) — Lawmakers in Moldova approved changes in the national electoral system from proportional to mixed-member proportional representation, a Sputnik correspondent reported Thursday.

"The draft on the mixed electoral system was approved by the votes of 74 lawmakers in the second and final reading," Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu said.

The draft was approved by the socialists, democrats and independent lawmakers, whereas some representatives of the opposition left the parliament’s hall.

According to the adopted document, the electoral threshold for a party or a political organization will total six percent, whereas a multiparty bloc will have to gain at least eight percent to enter the parliament, regardless of the number of the parties it includes. Before the electoral system’s change, two-party bloc was required to get nine percent and a bloc, while a bloc composed of over three parties should have received 11 percent. In addition, independent candidates could have entered the legislature with two-percent support.

Moldovan citizens have gathered near the parliament building on Thursday to participate in two rallies, namely, either to support or to oppose the shift in the country’s electoral system. Representatives of extra-parliamentary opposition parties are among those protesting against the introduction of the mixed electoral system.