StratCom analyzes main vulnerabilities of regional information environment ahead of elections in Gagauzia

The Center for Strategic Communication and Countering Disinformation (STRATCOM) is analyzing the main vulnerabilities of the regional information environment in the context of the November 15 elections in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia. It is also examining the risks of exploiting political and identity-based tensions, attempts to delegitimize the electoral process, and the potential use of digital infrastructure to coordinate the amplification of manipulative narratives.

In this context, the head of the Center’s Situational Awareness and Forecasting Directorate spoke about the risks associated with electoral campaigns in the autonomy during a workshop recently organized by the Central Electoral Commission and International IDEA.

The analysis sought to answer essential questions concerning how existing fears may be exploited during the electoral campaign, which issues could be turned into tools of polarization, and how information manipulation activities and foreign interference could affect citizens’ trust in the electoral process before the results are known.

The StratCom assessment shows that the most frequently used techniques, tactics, and procedures include the creation of politically oriented “civic platforms,” fabricated suspicions regarding election-organizing procedures and the early preparation of challenges to those procedures, collective victimization, the activation of fear (war, NATO accession) and the use of international and national observers as tools of manipulation.

The recommendations made by the Center’s specialists focus on encouraging citizens to become actively involved in public life, fostering confidence in their ability to influence decisions, and raising awareness of their role in the development of the community and the region.

On November 15, elections will be held in Gagauzia for the position of Governor (Bashkan) of the region and for the People’s Assembly.