Elections for the Gagauzia People’s Assembly, which should be held by November 16, 2025, will likely not take place this year, regional observers told Europa Libera. The city of Comrat currently lacks an electoral authority to organize the vote.
The Assembly has not set a date for the elections, and no timeline exists for resolving the issue. In 2023, Speaker Dmitri Constantinov dissolved the Comrat electoral authority without creating a replacement. As a result, no body can organize either the legislative election or a bashkan election if Governor Evghenia Gutul is convicted or barred from public office.
“I cannot say whether the elections will take place this year or not,” said Gheorghi Leiciu, vice president of the Gagauzia legislature. He stressed that the main obstacle is the absence of a local electoral authority.
Vitali Gaidarji, director of the Gagauz portal laf.md, said it is unlikely elections will happen in 2025. He noted that the law requires forming the electoral authority at least 90 days before the elections, which has not occurred. The final ruling on the dissolution of the old Comrat Central Electoral Council is expected only at the end of November.
“This is a deadlock, a closed circle. Gagauzia elections will likely be held next year, possibly alongside the bashkan election,” Gaidarji said.
The Comrat People’s Assembly consists of 35 deputies serving four-year terms, elected in single-member constituencies under a majoritarian system. Each locality in the autonomy must have at least one deputy, with one deputy per 5,000 voters.
Opposition deputy Alexandr Tarnavski accused the Assembly of deliberately delaying the elections to serve private interests. “The Assembly’s excuses for not fixing a date are unjustified,” he said. Tarnavski filed a lawsuit to compel the legislature to act, but the case has not yet been reviewed. He added that delaying the vote benefits the legislative majority controlled by oligarch Ilan Shor.
Authorities in Comrat appear to have intentionally created the deadlock, according to Gaidarji, citing intersecting interests, particularly Shor’s concern about losing control over the Assembly. Serghei Cernev, Head of the State Chancellery Office in Gagauzia, told Moldova 1 that officials are likely aiming to hold elections in May 2026.
The situation also raises concerns about the legitimacy of the current Assembly, which cannot adopt the autonomy’s 2026 budget after its mandate expires. Leiciu believes the Assembly can continue exercising its mandate until a new composition is elected, but Gaidarji noted that after November 16, the Assembly will have limited authority and the region will rely on a provisional 2025-based budget. This explains why, at its last session, the Assembly increased the revenue part of the 2025 budget in preparation for provisional budget operations.
Complications extend to the bashkan election, contingent on judicial decisions regarding Evghenia Gutul, sentenced to seven years in prison for illegal financing of the former Shor Party. Gutul, elected bashkan on May 14, 2023, with over 52% of the vote, is the first convicted and imprisoned governor of Gagauzia.
Leiciu confirmed that bashkan elections will take place alongside legislative elections, but the absence of an electoral authority continues to block progress. Tarnavski added that even if the bashkan election proceeds, “the situation remains complicated,” as Gutul’s conviction process could take time.