The Central Electoral Commission has revoked the registration of independent candidate Serghei Sapunji, who was running for mayor of the village of Chirsova in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, over electoral bribery. He provided a voter with building materials during the election campaign. According to the commission, the candidate purchased and delivered approximately 5.3 tonnes of crushed stone worth 4,000 lei to improve access to a local resident’s property, IPN reports.

CEC Vice-Chairman Pavel Postică said the incident took place in early October during the candidate’s meeting with voters in Chirsova. A local resident complained about the poor condition of the access road to his home. Serghei Sapunji subsequently visited the resident’s home and arranged for building materials to be purchased and delivered, paying for them out of his own pocket.

The Chirsova Electoral Council found that electoral legislation had been violated and issued the candidate a warning, deeming the cancellation of his registration a disproportionate penalty. The Central Electoral Commission (CEC), however, ruled that the law requires registration to be cancelled in such cases, stressing that the materials had been provided following an electoral meeting, even though the voter had not been explicitly asked to vote for the candidate. Pavel Postica also noted that the police had informed the CEC that a criminal investigation had been opened into alleged voter bribery.

Serghei Sapunji denied the allegations, explaining that road-grading work carried out during his time as mayor had damaged access to the property in question. He maintained that he had provided the materials to honour a promise previously made to the voter’s father, who had since died, and that he had not sought to influence the vote.

The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) overturned the decision of the Chirsova Electoral Council and ordered the cancellation of Serghei Sapunji’s registration as a candidate for mayor. It also reminded the local electoral body of its obligation to properly apply electoral law. The decision, adopted by seven votes to two, may be appealed to the Centre Court of Appeal within three days.

A new election for mayor of the village of Chirsova is scheduled for November 1, after former mayor Anna Hohlova-Tiufeac’s term of office ended early.