Promo-LEX observers confirmed nearly 60 incidents during the election in Gagauzia by 04:30 PM, with unjustified group voting accounting for the largest share—21 cases. Other irregularities included the unwarranted presence of unauthorized individuals inside or near polling stations and breaches of ballot secrecy, including during voting with mobile ballot boxes, IPN reports.

According to Promo-LEX, there were incidents in which two or more voters entered the same polling booth at the same time or showed one another their voting choices. The highest numbers of unjustified group voting incidents were recorded in Etulia, Ceadar-Lunga and Vulcanesti.

Another ten incidents involved the unjustified presence of unauthorized individuals inside polling stations or within a 100-metre radius of them. Such cases were reported in Congazcicul de Sus, Bugeac and Chioselia Rusa, among other locations.

Seven cases in which the secrecy of the ballot was breached were also reported, including instances where voters could be observed casting their ballots while using a mobile ballot box. In one case, a voter cast a ballot on behalf of another person.

The Promo-LEX Association’s mobile teams monitored three instances of voting with a mobile ballot box: at the district hospitals in Ceadar-Lunga and Comrat, and at voters’ homes in the village of Bugeac. In all three cases, before the teams left the polling stations, the “Z” mark had not been entered on the electoral lists for voting at voters’ locations, as required by the Central Electoral Commission’s instructions.

At the polling station in Bugeac, electoral officials did not bring a voting booth to ensure the secrecy of the ballot. Electoral officials also failed to bring portable voting booths for home voting, allowing others to see how voters cast their ballots. In some cases, voters’ relatives also refused to let observers enter their homes to monitor the voting procedure.

According to the Central Electoral Commission, more than 1,900 voters requested to vote using a mobile ballot box in the elections in Gagauzia. The highest number of requests—105—was submitted in the Comrat constituency.

By 06:00 PM, more than 43,746 voters had cast their ballots at the 67 polling stations, representing nearly 34% of those on the electoral rolls.