12 parties participate this year in the elections in Gagauzia, which is a record for the region, where only 5-6 parties were participating on average, Governor of Gagauzia Mihail Formuzal said on Wednesday, May 16. According to him, 65 polling stations in 26 settlements will be opened in Gagauzia, including two towns and one municipality. 129 candidates, of whom 61 are independent, run for 26 mayor offices. This figure means that about 5 candidates are running for one office. The most candidates were fielded by the Electoral Bloc “Patria-Rodina-Ravnopravie” (EBPRR) – 18 candidates, Party of Communists – 15, Democrat Party – 11 etc. 1844 persons are running for 378 seats of local councillors, which again means that 5 candidates run for one office. The most candidates run on behalf of the Party of Communists – 371, EBPRR – 350, Democrat Party – 248. 249 candidates are independent. Three candidates run for Comrat Mayor (the regions’ most important city), and 252 candidates run for 27 councillor seats. Formuzal said that MDL 97 thousand will be allotted from the budget of Gagauzia for providing those 65 polling stations with transparent ballot boxes, including mobile ones. The local general elections will take place on June 3.