Ion Bunduchi and his colleagues in the Moldovan press often find it difficult to write about presidential campaigns in their country.

When there are organized debates, the party in power typically chooses not to participate.

“The big honchos, when they are televised, they say their side of the story, but don’t have somebody on the other side of the table challenging them,” said Bunduchi, executive director of the Association of Electronic Press in the former Soviet republic.

Bunduchi and four others from Moldova were in Lawrence on Tuesday as part of a national information-gathering tour aimed at strengthening the electoral system in their country.

Others on the trip are Ina Gutium, deputy director of the Association for Participatory Democracy; Serghei Ostaf, executive director of the Resource Center of Moldovan Nongovernmental Organizations for Human Rights; Stelian Rusu, a representative of the U.S. Embassy in Moldova; and Virgil Cioflec, an interpreter.

The group was connected with KU through consulting work done previously by Diana Carlin, dean of the Graduate School and International Programs, who has advised Moldovans on political debates and TV programming.

Gutium said she was especially interested in programs such as Kids Voting, which encourage younger people to vote. Average national election turnout in Moldova is about 65 percent, but only 18 percent of young adults cast ballots.

Ostaf said he was interested in learning about the role of American universities in their communities and how their research might help guide legislation or social policy.

“We lack that in Moldova, and the University of Kansas is a good model of that,” he said. “This is a good example of the state using the resources of the university.”