The Comrat Court of Appeal validated on Monday, May 22, the mandate of Evghenia Guțul, member of the “Shor” party, as Bashkan of Gagauzia. According to the final minutes presented by the Central Electoral Commission of Gagauzia, Evghenia Guțul won the second round of the elections for the post of Bashkan of the region with 52.34% of the votes.

The decision of the Comrat Court of Appeal was handed down while the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (PA) continues its examination of Gagauzia’s voter lists in the context of “reasonable suspicions regarding the inclusion of deceased persons living abroad on the voter lists”.

In the context of the examination of the issue of the validation of the elections for the position of Bashkan of Gagauzia, the Chairwoman of the Central Electoral Commission of Gagauzia, Iana Covalenco, said that Evghenia Guțul, the candidate of the “Sor” party, should be recognised as the elected Bashkan of ATU Gagauzia. According to her, “there were no obvious irregularities that could have affected the election results,” according to nokta.md.

“The Central Electoral Commission ensured a fair election, with all guarantees, provided for by the Constitution of Moldova and the Electoral Code. We believe that the court should validate the elections,” said Vadim Banaru, Evghenia Gutul’s lawyer.

While the Comrat Court of Appeal was examining the issue of the validation of the elections for the position of Bashkan of Gagauzia, a rally was held in front of the court in support of Evghenia Guțul, the candidate of the “Shor” party who won the May 14 elections.

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 subordinated 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.

Elections for Bashkan of Gagauzia

On 14 May 2023, the second round of the elections for the position of Bashkan was held in the ATU Gagauzia. According to the results published by the Central Electoral Commission of Gagauzia, the candidate of the “Sor” Party, Evghenia Guțul, won the elections for the position of Bashkan of ATU Gagauzia, after having obtained 27 374 votes in the second round, while her opponent, the independent candidate supported by the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM), Grigorii Uzun obtained 24 926 votes.

On the morning of 13 May, the day before the second round of the elections, the National Anti-Corruption Centre (CNA) carried out more than 10 raids in the case of illegal financing of the “Shor” party.

On May 16, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) in Chisinau reported that on May 13, 2023, it initiated eight contraventional proceedings on the facts of illegal financing of electoral contestants, who received donations from individuals exceeding the maximum ceiling set by law for cash donations, during the elections held in Gagauzia.

Also on the 16th, NAC officers raided the headquarters of the Central Electoral Commission of Gagauzia in a voter corruption case. CNA representatives announced that “the basis for the action of collecting the documents is the reasonable suspicion of the inclusion in the voter lists of deceased persons living abroad and voting on their behalf”.

On the evening of 16 May, the deputies of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia held an extraordinary meeting and voted unanimously to “support the decision of the Central Electoral Commission of Gagauzia to recognise the results of the elections for the position of Bashkan”.

On 19 May, the CNA announced that the procedure of unsealing and examining the envelopes with the electoral lists of the ATU Gagauzia was taking place in the presence of three members of the Central Electoral Commission of Gagauzia. The NAC noted at the time that “the actions carried out by the NAC, under the leadership of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, do not affect, at present, in any way the judicial process of validating the elections”.