The candidate for the post of Governor (Bashkan) of Gagauzia Irina Vlah believes and hopes that the elections will end on March 22 and there will be no need to hold the second round of voting. She has told IPN that the opponents who criticize her realize her chances of winning the elections and therefore resort to attacks, instead of promoting their own platforms.
Irina Vlah said that this election campaign that involves ten candidates is very active. It is for the first time that such a large number of candidates are running in the elections. However, the candidates who represent the ruling parties, especially the Democratic Party, use the administrative resources. Also, different falsification measures can be taken in Comrat on the election day.
According to the candidate, about 3,000 residents of the villages situated nearby were registered in Comrat town over the last two months and this fact shows that these people will vote according to a particular scheme. The electoral offices of Comrat consist of representatives of the Comrat Municipal Council, where the Democrats hold a majority of seats and there are no representatives of the opposition. There is thus no plurality of opinions and the vote could be rigged.
As regards the accusations that she is being favored by the support of Russian high-ranking officials that she enjoys, Irina Vlah said everyone has their own opinion, noting she had meetings with Russian officials and other foreign partners and there is nothing bad in this. Such a practice existed also in the November 30, 2014 parliamentary elections, when particular parties were supported by high-ranking European officials. “During two months alone, Moldova was visited by 78 public functionaries from the EU and nobody made accusations and the elections went smoothly,” she stated.
The elections in Gagauzia will take place on March 22. After two registered candidates withdrew, the race for the post of Bashkan now includes the following contenders: Valerii Ianioglo, Ruslan Garbaly, Nicolae Dudoglo, Irina Vlah, Oleg Garizan, Alexandru Stoianoglo, Serghei Chernev, Dumitru Croitor, Ilia Anastasov, and Leonid Dobrov.
