The ADEPT Association and the OSCE Mission to Moldova organised in Comrat a roundtable on improvement of election laws and procedures in the Gagauz autonomous territorial unit, on December 13. The roundtable meeting brought together members of the People’s Assembly, representatives of main local political forces, executive authorities and civil society. Opening speeches were delivered by OSCE Mission to Moldova’s Senior Human Rights Advisor Jacqueline Carpenter, Ana Harlamenco, speaker of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, Deputy Governor of Gagauzia Nicolae Stoianov, and ADEPT executive director Igor Botan.

Four draft laws were presented at the roundtable meeting. Three of them were worked out by ADEPT experts and seek the amendment and completion of the law on electoral bodies of the Gagauz autonomous territorial unit, law on election of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia and the law on election of the Bashkan (the Governor) of Gagauzia. The forth discussed proposal was a draft Election Code worked out by a special commission of the People’s Assembly and presented by Ivan Burgundji.

Participants in the roundtable welcomed the idea of drafting a new Election Code of Gagauzia to unify all effective laws and appreciated the ADEPT-tabled draft laws, inviting the special commission of the People’s Assembly to take over the amendments proposed by ADEPT experts. They raised recommendations aimed to improve the election framework of the region, inclusively by allowing regional parties, organising concomitant elections of People’s Assembly and Bashkan, holding a permanent activity of the Central Election Commission of Gagauzia, modifying the procedure of registration of candidates running for People’s Assembly etc.

At the end of the meeting Ana Harlamenco welcomed the constructive dialogue between representatives of all participating political forces and assured that all the opinions expressed at the roundtable, as well as draft laws worked out by ADEPT will be considered by the special commission of the People’s Assembly when finalising the draft Election Code of Gagauzia. The People’s Assembly is going to release the draft Election Code for public consultation in early 2012.