Chernev's supporters will seek justice in Constitutional Court

The deputy chairpersons of the Gagauz People's Assembly, Ana Harlamenko and Elena Kovalenko, and deputy Piotr Vlah have told a press conference on Tuesday that they will resort to the Constitutional Court to defend their rights, after the Gagauz appellate court declared the election of Sergey Chernev to the post of chairman of the Gagauz legislature as unlawful. Chernev's supporters are also going to hold a large-scale rally in Comrat on July 12 in solidarity with the last elected chairman. 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 also expressed their deep concern about the tensions in the People's Assembly. 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.