2023 Gagauz gubernatorial election

The 2023 Gagauz gubernatorial election was held on 30 April and 14 May 2023 on the territory of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, part of the Republic of Moldova. The position of Governor (Başkan) of Gagauzia represents one of the highest positions in the autonomy, also having the position of a member of the Government of the Republic of Moldova ex officio.

2023 Gagauz gubernatorial election
30 April 2023 (first round)
14 May 2023 (second round)
 
Candidate Evghenia Guțul Grigorii Uzun
Party ȘOR PSRM
Popular vote 27,374 24,926
Percentage 52.34% 47.66%
Başkan before election

Irina Vlah
Independent

 Elected Başkan

Evghenia Guțul
ȘOR

Background

Gagauzia's autonomy is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and regulated by the Gagauz Autonomy Act of 1994.[1] Irina Vlah was elected on 22 March 2015 as the Başkan of Gagauzia and won her second mandate in 2019. She is no longer eligible for a third term.

Gagauzia is an autonomous region under the constitutional control of the Chișinău authorities

Following the statements by which Irina Vlah admitted that the official language of the Republic of Moldova is Romanian, PSRM leader Igor Dodon announced that the socialists are withdrawing their support for the governor of Gagauzia.[2] Irina Vlah is an ex-officio member of the government of the Republic of Moldova throughout her mandate, being a member of the cabinets of Chiril Gaburici (2015), Valeriu Streleț (2015–2016), Pavel Filip (2016–2019), Maia Sandu (2019), Ion Chicu (2019–2021), Natalia Gavrilița (2021–2023) and Dorin Recean (2023–present).

Candidates

In the 2023 election, eight candidates registered, including two party members and six independent candidates:[3]

Candidate Political party Positions held Endorsed by Ref.
Nicolai Dudoglo Independent [4]
Grigorii Uzun PSRM
  • Member of the Moldovan Parliament (2021)
 [4]
Mihail Formuzal Independent [3]
Victor Petrov Independent
  • Vasile Bolea, Member of the Moldovan Parliament for BCS
 [3]
Dumitru Croitor Independent [3]
Serghei Cernev Independent
  • Member of the People's Assembly of Gagauzia
 [3]
Evghenia Guțul Șor Party No previous offices [3]
Serghei Cimpoieș Independent
  • Member of the People's Assembly of Gagauzia (since 2021)
 [3]

Opinion polls
Dates

conducted

 Polling firm Sample

size

 Petrov
Ind.		 Guțul
ȘOR		 Uzun
PSRM		 Dudoglo
Ind.		 Formuzal
Ind.		 Croitor
Ind.		 Cimpoieș
Ind.		 Cernev
Ind.		 Lead
14 May 2023
(2nd round)		 CEC – – 52.3 47.7 – 4.6
30 Apr 2023
(1st round)		 CEC – 16.2 26.5 26.4 9.0 3.5 10.4 5.7 2.3 0.1
30 Apr 2023 Intellect Group-SPERO 984 22 16 24 8 6 16 2 1 2
18–23 Apr 2023 iData 1,023 12.7 18.3 20.5 11.1 10.4 15.2 8.3 3.5 2.2
12–20 Apr 2023 Başkan Elections 2023 2,060 46 18 14 7 5 4 4 2 28
28 Mar – 3 Apr 2023 Başkan Elections 2023 1,050 55 — 16 11 10 6 — 2 39

Results
CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Evghenia GuțulȘor Party14,89026.4727,37452.34
Grigorii UzunParty of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova14,84926.4024,92647.66
Victor PetrovIndependent9,13316.24
Dumitru CroitorIndependent5,82510.35
Nicolai DudogloIndependent5,0598.99
Serghei CimpoieșIndependent3,2285.74
Mihail FormuzalIndependent1,9693.50
Serghei CernevIndependent1,3012.31
Total56,254100.0052,300100.00
Valid votes56,25498.5152,30097.44
Invalid/blank votes8531.491,3762.56
Total votes57,107100.0053,676100.00
Registered voters/turnout92,56361.7092,55857.99
Source: Central Electoral Commission – First round, Data, Second round, Data

Controversies

Some media of the Romanian press critizised the fact that all the candidates are pro-Russian, Eurosceptic and anti-Romanian.[5][6][7]

References
  1. Legea nr. 344 din 23.12.1994 privind statutul juridic special al Găgăuziei (Gagauz-Yeri)
  2. ""Dacă aș fi știut..." Dodon, supărat foc pe Vlah că a sărbătorit "limba română". Dar pe Ceban?" (in Romanian). Realitatea.md. 2021-09-23. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  3. Popușoi, Cristina (2023-04-01), "Alegeri în Găgăuzia | În cursa pentru funcția de bașcan sunt înregistrați opt candidați", Radio Europa Liberă (in Romanian), retrieved 2023-04-04
  4. Rosca, Oxana (2023-03-08). "Au fost înregistrați primii doi candidați la funcția de bașcan al Găgăuziei". Ziarul de Gardă (in Romanian). Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  5. "Alex Ștefănescu povestește cum îl îmbrobodise Mihai Neamțu, sub pretextul unui "schimb de idei", să-i vândă produse pentru slăbit. Acum, Neamțu detestă "materialismul occidental"". 2 May 2023.
  6. "Alegerile din Găgăuzia, unde toți candidații sunt pro-ruși, încă un motiv pentru Moscova să acuze Chișinăul / De ce este importantă Găgăuzia pentru Rusia".
  7. "Alegeri în Găgăuzia, regiune autonomă a Republicii Moldova. Toți candidații ar fi pro-ruși". 30 April 2023.


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