Gagauzia Assembly deputies called to meet Maia Sandu
On Monday, July 20, deputies from the People's Assembly of Gagauzia met with Maia Sandu, the President of the Republic of Moldova, to address the ongoing institutional crisis in the Gagauz autonomy. They discussed the delays surrounding the organization of elections for a new composition of the People's Assembly.
“Today at 3:00 p.m., a meeting is scheduled between the deputies and the President of the Republic of Moldova. For the past two weeks, we have been calling for dialogue, and on Saturday, we received an invitation to this meeting. All deputies are invited to participate in the discussions, which will be led by the President of the People’s Assembly,” said Valentin Gaidarji, the newly elected President of the local legislature of Gagauzia, during an interview with Radio Moldova Comrat.
Valentin Gaidarji was elected President of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia on July 3, following the resignation of interim President Nicolai Ormanji, which was approved by the deputies.
This change in leadership of the autonomous legislature occurred amid ongoing disputes over the functioning of local institutions and the organization of future elections.
The elections in Gagauzia will no longer be organized by the Central Electoral Commission in Comrat, following the Constitutional Court's declaration that several legislative provisions are unconstitutional. This decision came after the Ministry of Justice submitted a notification to the court.
The mandate of the People's Assembly of Gagauzia expired in November 2025, but elections for a new regional legislature did not occur. The elections originally scheduled for March 22 and June 21, 2026, were canceled by the courts, which determined that the local regulations governing their organization contradicted national legislation.
The Ministry of Justice's notification to the Constitutional Court is part of the measures being taken by the authorities in Chisinau to resolve the situation in Comrat. In parallel, a joint commission comprised of deputies from both the Parliament and the People's Assembly developed a draft compromise for organizing regional elections, but this proposal was not supported by the Comrat legislature.
Amid this deadlock, Nicolai Ormanji, the interim chairman of the People's Assembly, announced his resignation, stating that he had exhausted all options for holding elections. He was succeeded by Valentin Gaidarji, who was elected to the position on July 3. On the same day, the People's Assembly set a new date for the regional elections: November 15, 2026.
