Parliament open to talks to resolve electoral deadlock in Gagauzia

Speaker Igor Grosu stated today that there is a deadlock in Gagauzia Territorial Autonomous Unit regarding the organization of the electoral process, which he attributes to deliberate actions by certain local actors.


“This is a deadlock created by colleagues from Gagauzia – in fact, not colleagues from Gagauzia, but Shor’s colleagues in Gagauzia. They created this blockage by deliberately insisting on a way of preparing and holding the elections that is, a priori, illegal,” said Grosu.


According to him, insisting on procedures considered illegal has contributed to maintaining the deadlock.


“All previous actions were challenged in court, and the court ruled that it is not correct to have a central electoral commission within the autonomy. And this insistence, this persistence in following an illegal path, only serves to consolidate the deadlock,” he stated.


Igor Grosu noted that the central authorities are open to dialogue and have resumed the work of the parliamentary discussion platform.


“We are open to discussions, we have revived a relevant committee, the dialogue group on the parliamentary platform. The factions have each delegated a representative. We will convene them, we will discuss, and we will see what the best solution for unblocking the situation will be,” Grosu said.


In the same context, he emphasized that compliance with the legal framework remains the main condition for overcoming the situation.


“The main thing that needs to be understood in Gagauzia is respect for the law, the legislation of the Republic of Moldova on the conduct and organization of elections,” noted Grosu.


At the same time, the President of Parliament described some actions as “cheap populism,” adding that an approach based on discussions and concrete solutions is needed to overcome the deadlock.

On 10 March 2026, the nominal composition of the working group was established to ensure, within the framework of constitutional norms, the functionality of the Gagauzia Territorial Autonomous Unit and the legislative provisions of the Republic of Moldova in relation to the special status of Gagauzia. An order to this effect was signed by Grosu.

The composition of the Working Group was determined based on proposals submitted by all parliamentary factions. It will be made up of 11 members. Six of them are representatives of the “Party of Action and Solidarity” parliamentary faction, while the opposition factions each designated one member. MP Larisa Voloh was appointed co-chair of the Working Group.

The Working Group is a platform for permanent dialogue between the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova and the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia. This cooperation mechanism was established in 2015, and the working group consists of an equal number of legislators from Chișinău and Comrat.

The mandate of the People’s Assembly expired in the autumn of last year, but elections could not be organized due to the institutional deadlock related to the activity of the electoral body in the region. In December 2025, the People’s Assembly scheduled elections for 22 March, but this date could not be met after the Supreme Court of Justice suspended the decisions regarding the composition of the CEC in Comrat.

At the beginning of this week, the legislative body in Comrat set 21 June as the date for elections to Gagauzia People’s Assembly.