The People’s Assembly of Gagauzia plans to re-establish the permanent Central Electoral Commission (CEC), which it dissolved in December 2023 at the initiative of Speaker Dmitrii Constantinov, reports IPN‘s regional correspondent.
”The CEC’s work in Gagauzia has consistently proven ineffective since its functionality between election campaigns is practically nonexistent, which doesn’t justify wasting budgetary resources,” officials argued two years ago to justify the dissolution of the Comrat Electoral Commission.
Lawmakers warned that recruiting new personnel for the CEC would be extremely difficult. Moreover, no one clearly explained how the commission’s ”inefficiency” had been determined. The CEC Chair Yana Kovalenko and former member Svetlana Mironova also raised concerns about the issue. Nonetheless, the majority of deputies voted in favor of Speaker Constantinov’s proposal.
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In June 2024, the Comrat Court of Appeal ruled that dissolving the Gagauz Electoral Commission was illegal. However, instead of complying with the court’s ruling, deputies chose to draft new amendments over the next year to restore Gagauzia’s permanent the CEC.
Despite the ruling, lawmakers could have reversed their earlier decision instead of drafting new legislation. Additionally, the regional budget lacks funding for this measure.
Deputy Alexandru Tarnavski urged lawmakers to show ”political responsibility” and called for repealing the law that dissolved the Electoral Commission without waiting for the judiciary’s final ruling. Tarnavski emphasized that lawmakers submitted the initiative three months before the current term of the People’s Assembly ends. Lawmakers intend to adopt the amendments without holding a public debate.