Russia’s active involvement is a worrisome particularity of the election campaign preceding the Governor elections in Gagauzia, said the executive director of the Comrat-based Youth Center “Piligrim-Demo” Mihail Sirkeli. According to him, the people are manipulated and, as a result, their vote could be less conscious.
Mihail Sirkeli has told IPN that the election campaign was marked by no major incidents and, compared with the previous campaigns, is very visible and with a high number of election runners who are active. The active involvement of high-ranking Russian officials is yet worrisome. These appear alongside particular competitors and make statements concerning Moldova’s foreign development course, trying to undermine the importance of the European values.
Mihail Sirkeli also said that the private media outlets of Gagauzia showed political bias, as in the previous election campaigns. The media outlets that are controlled and supported financially by particular politicians do not provide airtime in equal conditions to all the election runners.
According to Sirkeli, within the two weeks until the elections, the election commission is to print the ballots, to submit the electoral materials to the district electoral offices and to analyze the financial reports of the competitors.
