Massive rally planned in Gagauzia to support last elected Speaker

The supporters of the last elected chairman of the People's Assembly in Gagauzia, Sergey Chernev, are going to hold a large-scale rally in Comrat to protest the intrusion of the central authorities in the affairs of the autonomy's legislative body, Info-Prim Neo reports. The organizers, mainly members of the Assembly, said in a press release they intended to mobilize and gather about 15,000 protesters in Comrat's central square. In another release, the United Gagauzia Movement announced its intention to join the protesters, denouncing the intrusive involvement of the Moldovan central government in the affairs of the Gagauz legislature and describing the actions by the Communist Party as blackmail and pressure on the independent deputies. The rally is scheduled for July 12. Unaffiliated Sergey Chernev was elected on June 16 as chair of the Assembly in the absence of the Communist deputies, who later challenged the vote in court. The Communist lawmakers believe the office belongs to Demian Caraseni, elected on June 12 with the vote of 18 deputies. The counting commission, however, dismissed three ballots as spoilt, leaving Caraseni short of votes for a valid election. Chernev wasn't luckier with the office, either, as the Gagauz Court of Appeals ruled that his election had been unlawful. The lawmakers in Chisinau have expressed on Friday, June 19, their deep concern about the tensions in the People's Assembly and the issue was even included on the Parliament's agenda. But no joint decision has followed. Whereas the Opposition MPs criticized the intrusive actions by the ruling party, the Communists shifted the emphasis on the abuse of authority by Gagauz Governor Mikhail Formuzal, who allegedly interfered with the affairs of the legislative power in the autonomy.