gagauzinfo.md
The draft resolution under discussion regarding the procedure for organizing regional elections has come under harsh criticism from local lawyers and the Executive Committee for violating regulations and containing flawed wording, according to the local publication Gagauzinfo.md.
Vitaly Derevenko, deputy head of the Executive Committee’s administrative department, emphasized that a subordinate legislative act (resolution) cannot supersede the law (on the special legal status of Gagauzia), and that the document itself was pushed forward without the required opinions from the relevant commissions.
Representatives of the autonomy insist on their exclusive right to conduct elections independently, a right originally guaranteed by Moldovan legislation and by the same law “On the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia.”
In Comrat, officials report pressure from the republican authorities, who have already disrupted elections to the GAG twice this year through legal appeals filed by the State Chancellery.
Against this backdrop, Gheorghe Leichu, acting chairman of the GAG, announced the preparation of a new, alternative draft that will clearly define the autonomy’s “red lines.” Its discussion is scheduled for this coming Saturday.
Fedor Gagauz, a former member of the Moldovan Parliament, commented on the situation surrounding the electoral process for the publication:
“The Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia explicitly grants the People’s Assembly the authority to schedule elections, approve the composition of the Central Election Commission of Gagauzia, and organize regional elections. Thus, this is neither a privilege nor a political demand—the country’s legislation originally provided for the autonomy to have its own mechanism for conducting elections. That is precisely why attempts to transfer the organization of elections under the full control of republican structures contradict the spirit and meaning of the law.”
Chisinau’s Position: Uniform Law and Procedures
Official Chisinau categorically rejects accusations of blocking the elections and demands strict adherence to uniform republican standards.
The central authorities insist that the Gagauzia CEC must be transformed into a Central Election Council and placed under the authority of Moldova’s Central Election Commission.
In addition, Chisinau demands that all local election officials undergo mandatory vetting by the Information and Security Service (SIS) and the National Integrity Agency (ANII).
The central government leadership views Comrat’s actions as a deliberate delay of legal procedures that harms the region and rules out any compromises on issues of national security and election transparency.
Igor Grosu, Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, outlined the central government’s position as follows:
“The rules regarding the transparency of campaign financing, the vetting of election organizers, and the accuracy of voter rolls must be uniform throughout the Republic of Moldova. There are no exceptions for anyone. <…> What I see is behavior aimed at obstruction and delay. They only cause greater harm to the Gagauzia Autonomous Territorial Unit. <…> The law must be observed. The law is not a matter for bargaining.”
At the same time, Grosu is not bothered by the fact that the law on the special legal status of Gagauzia, which was originally positioned by Chisinau as having a higher status than organic laws, was violated by the Moldovan Parliament when it adopted the country’s new Electoral Code in 2023.
In other words, by declaring that there should be no exceptions for anyone, the Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament a priori made an exception for himself and for the ruling PAS party, which ignored the requirements of the law on the status of Gagauzia.
