Elections to People’s Assembly of Gagauzia set for 15 November

Elections to the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia (PAG) have been set for November 15. The decision was approved today by the People’s Assembly, with a majority of votes, during an extraordinary session held after the election of Valentin Gaidarji as president of the PAG.

Before the voting procedure, the deputies held closed-door consultations. At the same time, they did not adopt a decision regulating the procedure for conducting the election.

In this context, MP Ivan Caradja underlined that “a draft in this regard is to be approved after setting the election date and forming the electoral authority of Gagauzia.”

MP Vladimir Kîssa stressed that “it would have been necessary first to adopt a basic legal decision regarding the way the elections are organized, and only then set the date for holding the ballot.”

The mandate of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia expired in November 2025, and the elections scheduled for March 22 and June 21 were annulled by the courts due to non-compliance with legal provisions on the establishment and functioning of the electoral authority responsible for organizing the ballot.

At the beginning of June, the issue of organizing elections in Gagauzia was discussed during consultations held at the Presidency, with the participation of representatives of central authorities, the Central Electoral Commission, and the autonomy.

Following the discussions, the participants agreed on the need to harmonize local electoral legislation with the provisions of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Moldova, so that elections in the autonomy are organized in accordance with national standards regarding transparency, campaign financing, and the functioning of electoral bodies.

According to the authorities in Chisinau, the draft amendment to the legal framework was developed after several rounds of consultations with representatives of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, the Executive Committee, and deputies from the autonomy. Despite the compromises identified during the negotiations, the process of adopting the new electoral rules has remained blocked.