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| Veaceslav Craciun | |
A study entitled “Central Election Commission of Gagauzia in the legal space of the Republic of Moldova” by the director of the Association for Participatory Democracy (ADEPT) Igor Boțan was presented in Chisinau on April 10. The moment of the launch was more than symbolical – the Territorial Autonomous Unit (ATU) is close to the Bashkan (Governor) elections that will represent the first challenge for the local CEC and that already revealed difficulties related to the inconsistencies between the regional and national laws. In fact, experts consider the problems derive not only from the legislation.
Formation of “electoral traditions”
The study was financed by the Delegation of the European Union to Moldova in the framework of the project “Development of Civil Society in Gagauz-Yeri” that is implemented by Soros Foundation - Moldova, the Center “Contact” and the public association “Piligrim-Demo”. In the presentation, the Head of the EU Delegation’s Political, Press and Information Section Urszula Pałłasz said the study is designed to help the authorities to agree the status of Gagauzia’s CEC and to eliminate the possible problems and contradictions.
The author of the study himself spoke about the problems. According to Igor Boțan, until 2015 there was no integral election code in the ATU and the campaigns prior to the Bashkan elections and the elections to the People’s Assembly (APG-Y) took place based on unconnected regulations and decisions.
“Until then, not even the CEC of Gagauz-Yeri had the status of a standing body and this was constituted as a temporary body for organizing a particular election campaign. This negatively affected the electoral process. In particular, the budgets weren’t planned on time and, respectively, money for organizing the elections wasn’t allocated on time. Besides, the electoral officials didn’t receive the necessary instructions and the electoral procedures started with delay,” stated the expert.
According to Igor Boțan, in such conditions appropriate “electoral traditions” could not take roots in Gagauz-Yeri, unlike the situation nationwide were Moldova’s CEC has worked on a permanent basis since 1997.
The election code of Gagauzia adopted in July 2015 and the Central Election Commission of Gagauzia constituted in December the same year mainly solved the existing problems. Nevertheless, as the expert stated, the election code gives the CEC a series of improper rights and obligations that should be stipulated in the Election Code of the Republic of Moldova for being put into practice. The given powers refer to the cooperation of Gagauzia’s CEC with the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Moldova and other national organizations.
“Legalization” of commission
One of the main recommendations of Igor Boțans’s study is to amend the Election Code of the Republic of Moldova so as to “legalize” the CEC of Gagauzia. In this case, the ball is in the court of the People’s Assembly that can submit legislative proposals to the country’s Parliament.
The president of the electoral body of Gagauzia Ivan Comur confessed that other electoral initiatives are yet needed for the body he manages to be able to work at full capacity. There should be amended the law on the common classifier that currently does not include such posts as the president and secretary of the CEC of Gagauz-Yeri. This means that Ivan Comur and the other employees of the Commission are not public functionaries in accordance with the Moldovan legislation. Furthermore, the mechanism for paying salaries and providing social insurance to these employees is not clear. Another problem signaled by Ivan Comur refers to the official register of voters that Moldova’s CEC cannot provide to the colleagues from the ATU.
However, the fact that Gagauzia’s CEC is not stipulated in the Moldovan legislation didn’t hamper the informal interaction between the two bodies.
“As regards the personal and professional qualities and the solving of organizational matters, we cooperate very well with Moldova’s CEC in this regard. We can say that they are concerned about the fate of the CEC of Gagauzia more than anyone else in Gagauzia,” stated Ivan Comur.
Political matters
But not everyone is ready to justify the problems related to the organization of elections in Gagauzia by invoking the legislative shortcomings. Former MP Alexandru Stoianoglo, expert of the project to adjust the Gagauz legislation to the national one, considers the laws in Gagauzia could not be improved owing to different circumstances, while the current conflict between the Bashkan and the deputies of the People’s Assembly of Gagauz-Yeri is artificial in character.
The ex-MP noted that Gagauzia during the past ten years and more has been used as a hotbed of social tension.
“If problems appear in Chisinau, these are swiftly projected onto the region, especially when they are coordinated from the Center through different political forces. This is what we witness at present. We should overcome this situation and should simultaneously improve the legislation,” stated Stoianoglo.
The participants in the event, including the author of the study, unanimously agreed that the creation of the CEC of Gagauzia was a necessary and well-founded decision. However, unlike the expert approach, the practical solutions follow a different logic that is based on political will and interests. Not at all accidentally, the Commission became a rare, but not single proof since 1994 of the constitution of an official body that would develop and put into practice the powers of Gagauzia after this was given the status of autonomous region.
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