Constitutional Court of Moldova has ruled that the authorities of Gagauzia cannot decide the composition of the region’s electoral commission or participate in the appointment of the head of the regional police.
The ruling was delivered on Thursday after the Court examined two constitutional challenges concerning provisions of the Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia, the Law on Police Activity, and the Electoral Code.
The Court upheld a challenge filed by Justice Minister Vladislav Cojuhari and declared unconstitutional provisions of the Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia that granted the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia the authority to approve the composition of the autonomy’s Central Electoral Commission. Several other articles of the same law were also struck down.
The judges also declared unconstitutional a provision of the Law on Police Activity that required the head of the police in Gagauzia to be appointed upon the proposal of the Bashkan and with the consent of the People’s Assembly. In addition, the Court invalidated several provisions of the Electoral Code governing the establishment of the Central Electoral Council of Gagauzia under regional legislation.
At the same time, the Constitutional Court declared inadmissible a separate application filed by the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, which sought a constitutional review of several Electoral Code provisions concerning the Central Electoral Council of Gagauzia and rules governing electoral contestants.
The Court also issued a formal recommendation to Moldova’s Parliament, calling on lawmakers to amend the relevant legislation in line with its ruling.
The decision is final, cannot be appealed, entered into force upon adoption, and will be published in the Official Gazette.