Comrat Court of Appeals: Elections for Governor of Gagauzia were legal

The Comrat Court of Appeals Monday rejected the complaint about vote rigging filed by the mayor of Comrat Nicolai Dudoglo, who ran in the elections for the Governor of Gagauzia, and validated the December 26 second round of voting. The information was confirmed by the court’s president Elena Lazareva, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The application was rejected because he (Nicolai Dudoglo) filed no complaint on the election day. They (Dudoglo and his supporters) appealed only to the Central Election Commission and did not challenge the decisions issued by the electoral authority,” said Elena Lazareva. The Comrat Court of Appeals recognized the legality of the December 26 elections. Thus, Mihail Formuzal will hold office as Governor of Gagauzia the second consecutive term. Nicolai Dudoglo and his supporters demanded that the votes be recounted, the ballots be examined and that the elections be rerun. They claimed that the elections were fixed. The hearings on their complaints lasted for over three weeks. In the second round of voting for the Governor of Gagauzia, Mihail Formuzal polled 51% of the vote, while his opponent Nicolai Dudoglo - 48%.