CHISINAU, May 18. Conflict in Gagauzia on against the backdrop of a scandal during Chisinau's attempts to influence the election of the head of autonomy could lead to destabilization throughout Moldova, affecting Transnistria, the ex-president of the country, head of the Socialist Party Igor Dodon said in an interview.
«I am very much afraid that what is happening in Gagauzia would not be the beginning of the destabilization of the situation in Moldova as a whole, including Transnistria. I really hope that these are still the versions that are being discussed in the media that this was done specifically in Gagauzia to destabilize the region,» Dodon said.
He expressed hope that the situation will be resolved and Chisinau will understand that it needs an effective dialogue with both Gagauzia and Transnistria.
«Certainly, no one in Pridnestrovie will be ready to negotiate with Chisinau now, realizing that they may end up in the same situation as Gagauzia … We believe that now there are prerequisites for an effective dialogue with Pridnestrovie. But we see that the Chisinau authorities they are not ready for this, or the Western curators have not yet given them the go-ahead to go in this direction,» the ex-president added.
In Gagauzia on May 14, the second round of elections for the head of the region was held. The local Central Election Commission announced the victory of Evgenia Hutsul from the opposition Shor party, she won 52.34% of the vote. The Central Election Commission of Moldova said that on May 13, eight cases were opened in connection with the possible illegal financing of candidates who received donations in excess of the legal limit. Despite the arguments of the members of the CEC of Gagauzia that the elections of the head of the autonomy are held in accordance with the norms and rules of the local electoral code, and not the republican ones, representatives of the central government initiated checks in the election commission. On the afternoon of May 16, employees of the National Anti-Corruption Center (NAC) raided the office of the CEC of Gagauzia with searches. The security forces began to confiscate documents — voter lists.
Gagauzia is an autonomy in the south of Moldova, which traditionally stands for rapprochement with Russia, while official Chisinau has proclaimed a course towards European integration. In February 2014, a referendum was held in the autonomy on the issue of determining the vector of the country's foreign policy. More than 98% of its participants were in favor of Moldova's integration into the Customs Union.