Moldova's Electoral Code amended in first reading: new rules for elections in Gagauzia

The parliament has approved, in first reading, amendments to the Electoral Code that establish new rules for organizing elections in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia (UTA Gagauzia), introduce the legal framework for postal voting and strengthen electoral administration mechanisms.

The legislative initiative aims to align the electoral legislation with European standards, develop modern mechanisms for exercising the right to vote, and implement Constitutional Court Decision No. 8 of July 9, 2026, by which the parliament was obliged to regulate by organic law the organization and conduct of regional elections.

An important chapter of the draft concerns changes to the rules on electing deputies to the People’s Assembly (local parliament) of Gagauzia. The document provides for replacing the single-member system with a proportional system and establishing transitional provisions for applying the new mechanism.

At the same time, the draft regulates the organization and working of the Central Electoral Council of Gagauzia, stipulating that regional electoral procedures must be laid down in the Electoral Code adopted by the parliament.

The author of the draft law, deputy head the legal commission for appointments and immunities Igor Chiriac said that the amendments establish a clear mechanism for forming the central electoral body of the autonomy.

“Through these amendments, we are introducing the mechanism for establishing the central electoral body of Gagauzia. This body will be formed according to the procedures that are currently applied for the establishment of electoral councils throughout the country. Two members of the Electoral Council of Gagauzia will be proposed by the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, two members - by the court, and political parties represented in parliament will have the right to nominate one member each. The amendments also transpose the Constitutional Court’s findings regarding the special legal status of the UTA Gagauzia and parliament’s competences in electoral matters. The Electoral Code must be the only law applied in the context of regional elections. The Constitutional Court has stated that the parliament is the sole authority entitled to establish the rules under which elections, including regional elections, will be conducted and cannot delegate this competence to other authorities,” the MP specified.

Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu said that the amendments are necessary, so that elections in the autonomy take place within a clear and transparent legal framework.

“We cannot stop the process. There were two years available to solve the problem. The Electoral Code provided for a transition period during which the People’s Assembly was to bring the legislation on the conduct of elections in Gagauzia in line with the Code. This did not happen,” said Igor Grosu.

According to him, the authorities held more rounds of consultations with representatives of the autonomy, MPs, mayors and electoral institutions, reaching an advanced level of consensus on the proposed solutions.

“We have agreed on 95 per cent of the issues that needed to be settled. But the Parliament of Moldova will assume responsibility and will bring the legal framework in line with the decisions and recommendations of the Constitutional Court, so that Gagauzia has an Assembly elected by the citizens of this administrative-territorial unit,” the speaker said.

An MP of the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), Larisa Voloh, supported the draft, noting that the establishment of clear electoral rules is an essential condition for the functioning of democracy and for respecting the principle of equality among citizens.

“The democracy that we defend in this hall and that we speak about from this rostrum cannot exist without clear rules. Today’s discussion is not about who wins or who loses the elections in the Gagauz autonomy. It is about the fact that no citizen of Moldova should have more electoral rights than another. The region cannot be the subject of bargaining and the state must be predictable. This initiative does not limit the autonomy of Gagauzia or the people’s right to elect their representatives. It creates a clear, coherent and constitutional electoral framework,” the lawmaker noted.

For her part, PAS MP Natalia Davidovici said that the proposed amendments aim to depoliticize the electoral process and ensure equal rules for all citizens.

“Gagauzia is being turned into a powder keg, not because the Gagauz are like that, but because there has been an attempt to preserve the old system and keep the region in a permanent conflict with the central authorities. These forces do not want what is best for the people; they use them. The proposed amendments offer something simple and very valuable: they move the elections to a proportional system, in the same way as the parliament of Moldova is elected. These changes will apply to future elections, probably in 2030. Each vote will have the same weight and candidates supported by only 150 votes from a small village will no longer be able to enter the People’s Assembly. We aim to shut down the channels of hidden and external party funding, those mechanisms that have been used for years to buy influence in Gagauzia. Secondly, political forces will no longer be able to hide behind independent candidates. One such example is the Shor network,” Natalia Davidovici said.

A lawmaker of the Alternative faction, Alexandr Stoianoglo, called for the examination of the draft to be postponed and for public consultations to be organized with residents of the UTA Gagauzia. The MP said that the decision of the central authorities to challenge more provisions of the Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia before the Constitutional Court had changed the balance of powers between the central authorities and the ones of the autonomy.

“As a lawyer who has worked in both the structures of the autonomy and the republican ones, I believe that some decisions of the Constitutional Court have radically changed the balance between central and regional power. The Court declared unconstitutional the provision that gave the People’s Assembly the right to appoint members of the Gagauzia Electoral Commission. The proposed amendments deprive Gagauzia of the right to organize its own elections. At first glance, the central authorities claim to be concerned with organizing fair elections in Gagauzia, but the beneficiaries of these changes should be the residents of the autonomy,” Stoianoglo said.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament, PSRM MP Vlad Batrancea, criticized the draft, claiming that the amendments to the Electoral Code go beyond the implementation of the Constitutional Court ruling and were examined in haste, without sufficient consultations. According to him, “this is the 13th draft amending the Electoral Code in the last three years,” and the repeated change of electoral rules “depending on political interest” affects the legislative stability.

“In 2023, I was in Gagauzia and I found that the problem was not with the electoral body. All state institutions were there, but they did nothing. These situations should have been handled by law enforcement bodies, not through repeated amendments to electoral legislation. The state has all the powers to verify the legality of campaign financing and compliance with the law and members of the electoral bodies in Gagauzia are not outside the jurisdiction of Moldova. If there were infringements, they should have been investigated and sanctioned. I do not believe that amending the law is what will bring order to the organization of elections. The autonomy must retain its powers and state institutions must exercise the responsibilities they already have,” Vlad Batrancea said.

The draft also introduces provisions on postal voting, including prior registration of voters, remote identification and additional duties for the Central Electoral Commission. It also strengthens measures to prevent the use of administrative resources for electoral purposes and adjusts candidate registration procedures, in line with OSCE/ODIHR recommendations.

The elections for the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia are scheduled for 15 November 2026, and the new provisions are intended to create the necessary legal framework for organizing the ballot.