Moldovan MP to run independently for governor of Gagauzia

MP Alexandr Stoianoglo will run independently for the position of governor (bashkan) of Gagauzia. The politician has made statements to this effect at a news briefing held at the parliament.

Stoianoglo said that his parliamentary experience has convinced him that the autonomy’s problems cannot be fully resolved by the parliament and that he was prepared to assume responsibility for leading Gagauzia’s executive authority.

“I am running for the position of governor of Gagauzia. Today, I officially announced this decision in the parliament of Moldova. My parliamentary experience helped me understand that not all of Gagauzia’s problems can be resolved in parliament,” Stoianoglo said.

According to him, the positions of MP and governor involve different responsibilities. While a parliamentarian can propose laws and advocate for solutions at the national level, the governor leads the autonomy’s executive authority and is directly accountable for the results achieved.

“The governor has a different responsibility: leading the autonomy’s executive authority, working with a team and concrete resources, and being directly accountable for the results. For me, the stake is not the position or rank. The stake is where I can do more and what I am prepared to personally answer for. And I am prepared to assume this responsibility,” Stoianoglo said.

The MP noted that his electoral programme would be presented separately and would include concrete objectives, implementation deadlines and funding sources. The issues he intends to address include the economy and jobs’ creation, the departure of young people, rural development, education and the autonomy’s development opportunities.

“I will present the electoral programme separately. I will come forward with concrete objectives, deadlines and funding sources. We will talk about the economy and jobs, about young people who leave, because they do not see a future at home, about our villages, education and the autonomy’s opportunities. And, of course, about relations between Comrat and Chisinau,” the candidate said.

Stoianoglo said that relations between Comrat and Chisinau must be based on respect for the autonomy’s competencies and on solving citizens’ problems. He advocated avoiding the transformation of disagreements into conflicts and conflicts into deadlocks.

The MP said that he does not intend to give up his mandate. During the electoral campaign, his parliamentary activity will be separate from his participation in the elections, in accordance with the law.

“I will not give up my mandate as an MP. During the campaign, parliamentary activity will be separate from participation in the elections, in accordance with the law. Elections should be a competition between candidates, not between positions and administrative resources,” the MP emphasized.

In 2024, Alexandr Stoianoglo ran at the presidential election on behalf of the Party of Socialists of Moldova. In the second round, he received 44.59% of the vote nationwide. In September 2025, Stoianoglo was elected to parliament of Moldova on the list of the Alternative electoral bloc.

The elections for the position of governor of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia will take place on November 15, 2026, simultaneously with the elections for the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia. According to the Central Electoral Commission, the election in the autonomy will cost more than 13.6 million lei.

CEC Vice-President Pavel Postica said that the election in the autonomy would be conducted based on standardized rules. Previously, Gagauzia had applied its own electoral provisions, which over time led to differences. Postica cited as an example the number of voters registered on electoral rolls and the way of calculating the turnout rate required to validate the election. According to the CEC vice-president, the application of national rules will eliminate such differences.

“The reference point is the Electoral Code of Moldova. Starting with this election, in 2026, this ‘main rulebook’ will also be applied in Gagauzia. (...) The rules will now be standardized. Therefore, we will not have situations in which, for the governor’s election, for example, there are 80,000–90,000 people on the electoral rolls, but a different figure for all other elections,” the CEC official explained. “Otherwise, I believe that, for the ordinary voter, practically nothing will change. The electoral procedures will be applied in the same way as before,” Postica said at the Public Space programme on Radio Moldova.

Another issue addressed by the CEC representative concerned the requirement that candidates for governor know the Romanian and Gagauz languages. Postica said that the details regarding the verification of language proficiency would be established and explained in the CEC decision on the specific arrangements for organizing the elections in Gagauzia.

The CEC vice-president announced that a consultation on the specific arrangements for organizing the regional elections would take place in Comrat on September 9. Representatives of political parties and other interested parties are expected to attend the discussions.

“As is customary, we organize such discussions with all interested parties, with representatives of political parties and other stakeholders, to explain the rules of the game from the outset and avoid certain subsequent accusations,” Pavel Postica said.

The position of governor of Gagauzia became vacant after Evghenia Gutul was convicted in Shor case. The governor leads the autonomy’s executive authorities and is elected by direct vote for a four-year term. According to data from the 2024 Population and Housing Census, the population of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia is approximately 103,700 people.