Moldova restricts Gagauzia from holding elections through its own Central Electoral Commission

The Constitutional Court of Moldova has ruled that the right of the Gagauz Autonomous Region to independently organize elections through its own Central Electoral Commission is inconsistent with the Constitution, RBK reports.

The court granted Justice Minister Vladislav Cojuhar's request regarding several provisions governing electoral processes in Gagauzia. The judges declared the provisions governing the approval of the Central Electoral Commission unconstitutional.

"The provisions regarding the approval of the composition of the Central Electoral Commission for the conduct of elections, contained in paragraph d) of Part (3) of Article 12, as well as Articles 19, 22, 23, and 24 of Law No. 344 of December 23, 1994, on the special legal status of Gagauzia, are declared unconstitutional," Constitutional Court Chairperson Domnica Manole read the decision.

The People's Assembly of Gagauzia called on the Constitutional Court to uphold the Basic Law.

"I want to emphasize one thing: Gagauzia asks the Constitutional Court to uphold the letter and spirit of the Constitution, the constitutional architecture that has allowed peace to be maintained in our country for so many years since the agreement reached in 1994 between the people of Gagauzia and the central authorities. After all, this agreement was recognized by all parties to this social contract," said Deputy Speaker of the People's Assembly Gheorghe Leiciu.

He also criticized the position of the Moldovan parliament, which adopted both the Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia and the Constitution of the Republic. "The parliament now claims that its own legislative acts were unconstitutional. The question arises: does this mean that other normative acts regulating other areas of public life can be similarly declared unconstitutional?" Leiciu noted.

The People's Assembly of Gagauzia scheduled parliamentary elections for November 15. However, the local parliament's mandate expired in November 2025. Elections scheduled for March and June were annulled by the courts due to the People's Assembly's use of the term "electoral commission" instead of "electoral council." Currently, the parliament in Comrat cannot amend laws and can only pass resolutions.