Corneliu Dudnic, Alexandr Stoianoglo file documents to run for office of Gagauzia's bashkan

Corneliu Dudnic and Alexandr Stoianoglo have initiated procedures to participate in the elections for the office of governor (bashkan) of Gagauzia, due to take place on November 15, 2026. Both intend to run as independents and have submitted the necessary documents to the Central Electoral Council of Gagauzia for the registration of their initiative groups.

According to the CEC, in Corneliu Dudnic's case, the initiative group has already been registered by the Central Electoral Council of Gagauzia, and subscription lists have been issued to him. The group members may start collecting voters' signatures in support of his candidacy.

Alexandr Stoianoglo submitted his application and the necessary documents for the registration of the initiative group on September 23.

The period for submitting documents for the registration of candidates ends on October 6, 2026. The elections for the office of governor (bashkan) of Gagauzia will be held on November 15, on the same day as the elections for the People's Assembly of Gagauzia.

Under the law, a citizen of Moldova with the right to vote may be elected to the office of governor (bashkan) of Gagauzia if, including on election day, they have reached the age of 35, have resided or reside on the territory of the autonomous territorial unit of Gagauzia for at least 10 years, speak the Gagauz and Romanian languages, and are not subject to the restrictions on the exercise of electoral rights provided for in Article 16 (2) of Electoral Code No. 325/2022. The governor (bashkan) of Gagauzia is elected by universal, equal, direct, secret and freely expressed vote for a four-year term.

The following have the right to nominate candidates for the office of governor (bashkan) of Gagauzia:

· political parties entitled to participate in elections, based on data provided by the Public Services Agency, that were registered by the date of entry into force of the CEC’s decision establishing the date of the elections for the office of governor (bashkan) of Gagauzia;

· electoral blocs established and registered in accordance with electoral legislation;

· citizens of Moldova who put forward their own candidacy independently of political parties and electoral blocs and who, beginning 70 days before election day, have not been members of a political party and have not publicly expressed support for a political party.

Political parties and electoral blocs may nominate as candidates persons who, beginning 70 days before election day, meet the requirements for an independent candidate and have not been members of any political party other than the one nominating them or, in the case of an electoral bloc, other than the political parties that make up the bloc.

In the case of political parties and electoral blocs, the candidate is nominated by the bodies authorized for this purpose, in accordance with the statutory provisions or, as applicable, the agreement establishing the electoral bloc. The resolution or decision on the nomination of the candidate is confirmed by the minutes of the meeting of the competent body or an extract thereof, accompanied by the documents required by electoral legislation.

Independent candidates must be supported by at least 1 per cent of the number of voters included in the electoral rolls of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, but by no fewer than 1,500 people from at least half of the autonomous region's localities. By way of derogation, women candidates must have the support of at least 0.5 per cent of the number of voters from the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, but no fewer than 750 people from at least half of the region's settlements.