Gagauzia elects its Bashkan and People’s Assembly on 15 November: candidates, voters and voting calendar

On 15 November 2026, voters in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia will cast ballots in two elections held on the same day: the election of the Governor (Bashkan) of Gagauzia and the election of the 35 members of the People’s Assembly. According to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), as of 30 October, 129,167 eligible voters in the autonomy were registered in the State Register of Voters. These are the first regional elections in Gagauzia held under Electoral Code No. 325/2022.

Which positions are being elected

The Bashkan (governor) heads the autonomy. The position became vacant after former Bashkan Evghenia Guțul was convicted, with the sentence upheld by the Court of Appeal Centre on 28 May 2026, according to #diez. The second election is for the People’s Assembly, the representative body of the autonomy, comprising 35 members elected in 35 single-member constituencies. Each constituency elects one member, and voters choose individual candidates rather than party lists.

The Central Electoral Commission in Chișinău coordinates the elections. On-the-ground organisation is the responsibility of the Central Electoral Council of Gagauzia, based in Comrat, and the Comrat, Ceadîr-Lunga and Vulcănești constituency electoral councils.

Who can run for Bashkan

The CEC regulation on the nomination and registration of candidates for the 15 November elections sets out four conditions. A candidate must be at least 35 years old on election day, have lived or live in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia for at least 10 years, know Gagauz and Romanian, and not be subject to the restrictions set out in Article 16(2) of the Electoral Code.

Knowledge of both languages is assessed by the CECG’s receiving commission. The candidate personally completes a declaration in Gagauz and Romanian before the commission and answers its members’ questions. An independent candidate must be supported by 1% of voters in the autonomy, but by no fewer than 1,500 people from at least half of the localities in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia.

The eight candidates, in ballot order

The list below follows the order approved by the CECG for the ballot. For each candidate, the same details are provided: the nominating entity, the number of the CECG registration decision, year of birth, place of birth, profession and position or occupation, as declared by the candidate in the “Biographical Details” form published on the CEC website. Where a candidate left a field blank, this is indicated.

• 1. Fiodor Gagauz – nominated by the Political Party “Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova”; CECG decision No. 26; born in 1958 in the village of Gaidar; profession: law; position: field left blank.

• 2. Alexandr Stoianoglo – independent candidate; CECG decision No. 28; born in 1967 in the municipality of Comrat; profession: member of parliament; declared position: member of the Parliament’s Legal Affairs, Appointments and Immunities Committee.

• 3. Cornel Dudnic – independent candidate; CECG decision No. 29; born in 1982 in Vulcănești; profession: economist; declared position: manager at Vancor Agro LLC.

• 4. Ivan Cîlcic – nominated by the Political Party “Gagauz People’s Party”; CECG decision No. 30; born in 1966 in the city of Sukhumi (Georgia); profession: mechanical engineer; position: field left blank.

• 5. Petru Vlah – nominated by the Political Party “New Historical Option”; CECG decision No. 35; born in 1970 in the municipality of Comrat; profession: lawyer; declared occupation: entrepreneur, founder of Nezerant LLC.

• 6. Ivanna Koksal – independent candidate; CECG decision No. 38; born in 1978 in Ceadîr-Lunga; declared professions: philologist, journalist, among others; declared position: member of the charitable public association “Help for People”.

• 7. Serghei Anastasov – independent candidate; CECG decision No. 39; born in 1964 in the municipality of Comrat; profession: economist; declared position: mayor of the municipality of Comrat.

• 8. Oleg Garizan – independent candidate; CECG decision No. 40; born in 1971 in the village of Congaz; profession: historian; declared position: mayor of the village of Congaz.

All candidates were registered between 1 and 12 October 2026. The full biographical details and declarations of assets and personal interests for each candidate are published on the Central Electoral Council of Gagauzia page at cece.cec.md. The CEC regulation stipulates that people covered by Article 16(3) of the Electoral Code must submit, upon registration, a declaration that they will suspend their current position from the start of the election campaign.

Elections for the People’s Assembly

When registration closed on 12 October, constituency electoral councils had registered 135 candidates for the 35 seats, according to data compiled by the CECG. Of these, 42 were nominated by political parties and 93 are running as independents. There are 23 women (17%) and 112 men (83%). The councils rejected the registration of three other prospective candidates. The number of candidates may change by 5 November, the deadline for withdrawal.

Under the CEC regulation for elections to the People’s Assembly, once registration closes, the full list of candidates is published with their names, year of birth, profession and nominating entity. Their declarations of assets and interests are displayed at the electoral councils’ offices or published on cece.cec.md.

How many voters are there, and where will they vote?

The CEC updates the number of voters in the autonomy weekly. There were 129,323 registered voters on 25 September, 129,207 on 16 October, 129,179 on 23 October and 129,167 on 30 October. As of 30 October, the largest constituencies for the People’s Assembly were Baurci No. 12 (6,879 voters) and Ceadîr-Lunga No. 7 (6,492), while the smallest was Carbalia No. 23 (403 voters).

Voters will cast their ballots at 67 polling stations, according to the CEC. Voters can check their polling station at verifica.cec.md. The electoral body told #diez that no polling stations will be opened in Chișinău because these are regional elections.

Ballots and languages

The CECG and constituency electoral councils have approved the ballot print run: 129,390 for each of the two elections, or 258,780 in total. For each election, 100,740 ballots will be printed in Russian, 20,500 in Gagauz and 8,150 in Romanian.

What ID to take when voting

On 26 October, the CEC approved a procedure allowing voters to identify themselves at polling stations using the digital version of their identity document in the EVO app, by scanning a QR code. On 31 October, following the cyberattack on digital public services and at the request of the Electronic Governance Agency, the CEC decided that this option would not apply to the new local elections and local referendum on 1 November.

The 31 October decision applies only to the 1 November elections. By the time this article was published, the CEC had not announced whether identification through EVO would be available on 15 November. The Commission said the mechanism could be used in future elections once security checks had been completed. The practical recommendation is to take your physical identity document when you go to vote.

Calendar leading up to election day

• By 5 November: candidates may withdraw from the race by submitting a written request to the CECG for the Bashkan election or to the constituency councils for the People’s Assembly election. The electoral bodies have up to three days to make a decision.

• Friday, 13 November: the final day of the election campaign. Under the CEC regulation on media coverage of elections, election campaigning through the media is permitted only until the Friday before the vote.

• Saturday, 14 November, and Sunday, 15 November: election campaigning is prohibited under Article 52 of the Contravention Code. Opinion poll results may not be broadcast in the two days before the vote, and exit polls or information about candidates’ votes may not be broadcast before 21:00 on election day.

• Sunday, 15 November: election day.

Official information on the organization of the election, candidates, polling stations and appeals is published on the website of the Central Electoral Council of Gagauzia: cece.cec.md/ro/regions/uta-gagauzia.