Second round of Bashkan Gagauzia elections ended in Moldova

In the autonomous territorial education (ATO), Gagauzia, as part of Moldova, on Sunday, the second round of voting was held in the elections of the head of the executive branch (Bashkana).

Voting in 65 sites took place from 07:00 to 21:00 local time.

more than 92 thousand voters had a vote.

According to preliminary data from the Central Election Committee of Gagauzia, the turnout amounted to 54.56 percent.

The elected head of Gagauzia will officially take office 30 days after the announcement of the final results from the CEC.

Following the results of the first round of voting, the leader of the Schoru supported by the Evgeny Gutsul party (with 26.47 percent of the vote).

The second place was taken by the supporter of the Moldovan, headed by the ex-president Igor Dodon of the Socialist Party, Grigory Uzun with 26.40 percent of the vote. Uzun ran for an independent candidate, but went to the elections with the symbols of the Socialist Party.

In the Gagauz ATO with a population of about 120 thousand people, they also speak Gagauz, which belongs to the Oguz group of Turkic languages.

Gagauzes received the right to autonomy in 1994 with the active support of Turkey. Most of the population of the ATO Gagauzia professes Orthodoxy.

Gagauzes are an important link in relations between Turkey and Moldova, which have reached the level of strategic partnership.