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Ref. CG-CP037 (2016)

Congress delegation concludes electoral information mission to Gagauzia

Chisinau, 21 November 2016 - A 6 member- delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, led by Vice-President Sevdia Ugrekhelidz (Georgia, EPP/CCE), visited the Republic of Moldova from 19 to 20 November, and held meetings with interlocutors in Comrat and Chisinau, prior to the elections for the Popular Assembly of the Autonomous Unit of Gagauzia conducted yesterday.

In Comrat, the delegation including also Congress' member Saimir Plaku (Albania, SOC), and Congress' expert Carlos Pacheco Amaral form the University of the Azores (Portugal), exchanged views with the Bashkan of Gagauzia, Irina Vlah, and with the Speaker of the Popular Assembly, Dmitri Konstantinov, on the situation further to recent elections in the country and with regard to developments on regional autonomy and co-operation between Comrat and the central authorities in Chisinau. 

The new Electoral Code of Gagauzia adopted in 2015, was at the center of meetings with the Chairperson of the Central Electoral Commission of Gagauzia, Ivan KOMUR. The elections for the Popular Assembly on 20 November were the first vote governed by this new Code which incorporates provisions of parts of different previous legislations. In addition, the Congress' delegation held briefings with representatives of parties and independent candidates running in the elections. The pre-electoral meetings were rounded up by a briefing with 'Pilgrim-Demo', a Gagauz citizens observer organisation which monitored the elections throughout the region. 

On Election Day, two Congress' teams spot-checked some 20 polling stations (of a total of 66) in all parts of Gagauzia and found the situation satisfactory overall. With the exception of some procedural inconsistencies, in particular with regard to the use of cameras and mobile phones, voting was well organised, carried out in a calm and orderly manner and broadly in line with international standards. A particular feature of the E-Day was a relatively high number of mobile voting boxes requested and of voters on the so-called supplementary lists in polling stations visited by the Congress. Of particular interest will be the further implementation of the new Electoral Code of Gagauzia which, prior to these elections, had been challenged, related to specific parts, at the higher level by central Moldovan authorities.

A detailed Congress' Information Note including also information on campaign-related features will be prepared and discussed in the framework of the next plenary meeting of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress at its 32nd Session in March 2017.

Contact:

Renate Zikmund

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Head of the Congress Division of Local and Regional Election Observation

[email protected]

Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 37 21

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Congress of Local and Regional Authorities

Planning, Coordination and institutional Communication Unit

Tel: +33 (0)3 90 21 48 95

Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 27 51

[email protected]

www.coe.int/congress

The Congress has two chambers, the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions. It brings together 324 full and 324 substitute members representing more than 200 000 European territorial communities.

President of the Congress: Gudrun Mosler-Törnström (Austria, SOC), President of the Chamber of Local Authorities: Anders Knape (Sweden, EPP/CCE), President of the Chamber of Regions: Gunn Marit Helgesen (Norway, EPP-CCE)

Political Groups: Socialist Group (SOC), Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CCE), Independent and Liberal Democrat Group (ILDG), European Conservatives & Reformists Group  (ECR)