The National Anticorruption Center (NAC) said that a number of documents were seized during searches conducted at the Election Commission in Comrat over suspicions of illegal financing of the campaign prior to the gubernatorial election in Gagauzia and of voter corruption. There are reasonable suspicions that dead persons and persons who are outside the country were added to the voter rolls and that other persons voted in the name of these, IPN reports, quoting a press release of the NAC.

There is evidence that a part of the voters were transported from districts to polling places in an organized way to vote for the Shor Party’s candidate Yevgenia Gutsul. Also, the persons who voted for this candidate allegedly included persons who are outside Moldova and dead persons.

As a result of searches, later the same day the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia convened and the meeting involved representatives of the Executive Committee and also Yevgenia Gutsul, who won the Bashkan election according to the preliminary results. The deputies from Comrat leveled harsh criticism at the law enforcement agencies and the central public authorities, accusing them of abuse, wrongdoings and enormous pressure exerted on the Gagauz electoral authority.

Ultimately, the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia and the Executive Committee approved the Gagauz Electoral Commission’s decision by which Yevgenia Gutsul is recognized as election winner. Another meeting was set for May 27 and this will involve the deputies of all levels form ATU Gagauzia.

The Election Commission in Comrat on Tuesday announced that Yevgenia Gutsul won 27,374 votes in the Bashkan runoff, while her opponent Grigorii Uzun – 24,926.

One day before the May 14 runoff, police officers and prosecutors carried out searches over alleged acts of corruption committed by representatives of the Shor Party to persuade people to vote for Yevgenia Gutsul. It was determined that each activist was paid by 15,000 lei for influencing 30 electors to vote for this candidate. Among other violations that were allegedly committed by Gutsul’s campaign staff are involvement in vote buying, in transporting voters to polling places, and in taking illegal funding from a criminal group.

Also, the Central Election Commission of Moldova started eight contravention cases over non-observance of the caps on donations in cash in the campaign prior to the gubernatorial election held in Gagauzia.