The candidate of the “Șor” Party, Evghenia Guțul, has won the elections for the position of Bashkan of ATU Gagauzia, according to the preliminary results published by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Gagauzia. Thus, in the second round of the elections for the position of Bashkan, the candidate of the “Șor” Party, Evghenia Guțul, obtained 27 376 of the votes, while her opponent – the independent candidate, supported by the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM), Grigorii Uzun, obtained 24 913 of the votes.

The Gagauz CEC says these are preliminary data, obtained verbally from polling stations in the region.

For the second round of elections for the post of Governor (Bashkan) of Gagauzia:
Gut Eughenia – 27 376
Uzun Grigorii – 24 913

The district electoral councils have to process the data received from the polling stations and the preliminary results will be announced by the CEC of Gagauzia on Monday, 15 May 2023, at 9:00, the CEC of Gagauzia announced.

The second round of the elections for the position of Bashkan was held on Sunday, 14 May in ATU Gagauzia. In the second round, the candidate of the “Sor” party, Evghenia Guțul, and the independent candidate supported by the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM), Grigorii Uzun, fought. According to the Central Electoral Commission of Gagauzia, more than 53 thousand voters turned out at the polls. Voter turnout was 54.56%.

Evghenia Guțul: Candidate of the “Shor” Party

Evghenia Guțul is the only candidate participating in these elections on behalf of a political party. She is the candidate of the Shor Party. She is a lawyer by profession.

According to her assets declaration, during the last two years Evghenia Guțul had an income of 19 543 lei (including child-raising allowance) and her husband – 140 000 lei. The Guțu family received a gift of 25 000 euros. They own a 47.1 square metre house worth 300 000 lei.

According to the law on the special legal status of Gagauzia (Gagauz-Yeri), the governor (Bashkan) is the supreme official of Gagauzia. All public administration authorities of Gagauzia are subordinate to him. The Governor is elected by universal, equal, direct, secret and freely expressed suffrage for a 4-year term of office on an alternating basis. The Governor must be a citizen of the Republic of Moldova who has reached the age of 35 and is fluent in Gagauz.

Grigorii Uzun: Former PSRM deputy

Grigorii Uzun was previously a member of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia and a member of the Moldovan Parliament on behalf of the Party of Socialists (PSRM). Although running as an independent, Grigorii Uzun’s symbol is similar to that of the PSRM, which has officially announced its support for him.

Ziarul de Garda wrote in February 2021 about the socialist Grigori Uzun that he was charged with a criminal case after he was involved in a brawl on the shore of a lake in Vulcanesti in January 2019, in which several people allegedly participated.

According to his wealth statement, between January 2021 and December 2022, Grigorii Uzun had income of 108 791 lei and parliamentary allowances of 105 317 lei. Uzun declares a Tayota Land Cruiser car worth 1 441 250 lei whose owner is blurred in the declaration of assets, a Tayota Hilux worth 1 650 000 (it is not indicated in what currency) and six trucks worth a total of 21 040 000 rubles (about 235 608 euros).