Gagauzia enters the electoral silence period ahead of Sunday's vote
The Gagauzia election campaign concludes on Friday, November 13. Starting Saturday, all forms of electioneering will be prohibited, including candidates' participation in radio and television programs. Failure to comply with this ban may result in fines, the Central Election Commission (CEC) warns.
According to the CEC, candidates are prohibited from campaigning on November 14 and on the day of the vote, November 15. Local public authorities and advertising providers must also remove election materials displayed in designated public spaces. This prohibition, however, does not apply to information previously published online.
Additionally, during this period, electoral contestants are not permitted to transfer funds into or out of accounts designated as "Election Fund" accounts.
The CEC states that conducting election campaigning on the day of the election or the preceding day constitutes a contravention. Under the Contravention Code, individuals face fines ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 lei, while legal entities face fines ranging from 5,000 to 7,500 lei.
Residents of Gagauzia are expected to head to the polls on November 15 to elect their Bashkan (governor) and deputies to the People's Assembly. Eight individuals are running for the position of Governor of Gagauzia: Fiodor Gaguz, Alexandr Stoianglo, Cornel Dudnic, Ivan Kîlcic, Petru Vlah, Ivanna Koksal, Serghei Anastasov, and Oleg Garizan.
A total of 134 candidates have entered the race for seats in the People's Assembly, 93 of whom are running as independents (68.9%).
Voters will be able to cast their ballots at 67 polling stations. According to data from the State Register of Voters, there are over 129,000 eligible voters registered in the Autonomous Territorial Unit (ATU) of Gagauzia.
The election campaign began on October 16.
