The 2023 Gagauz gubernatorial election was held on 30 April and 14 May 2023 on the territory of the

Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia Gagauzia () or Gagauz-Yeri, officially the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia (ATUG), is an autonomous territorial unit of Moldova. Its autonomy is intended for the local Gagauz people, a Turkic-speaking, primarily Orthodox Christian ethn ...

, part of the

Republic of Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised ...

. The position of Governor (Başkan) of Gagauzia represents one of the highest positions in the autonomy, also having the position of a member of the Government of the Republic of Moldova ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

''.

Background

Gagauzia Gagauzia () or Gagauz-Yeri, officially the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia (ATUG), is an Administrative divisions of Moldova, autonomous territorial unit of Moldova. Its autonomy is intended for the local Gagauz people, a Turkic languages ...

's autonomy is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and regulated by the Gagauz Autonomy Act of 1994.Legea nr. 344 din 23.12.1994 privind statutul juridic special al Găgăuziei (Gagauz-Yeri)
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Irina Vlah Irina Vlah (; ; born 26 February 1974) is a Moldovan politician and archdeacon who served as Head of the autonomous region of Gagauzia since 2015 to 2023. Previously, she served as member of the Moldovan Parliament from 2005 to 2015. She is the ...

was elected on 22 March 2015 as the Başkan of Gagauzia and won her second mandate in 2019. She is no longer eligible for a third term. Gagauzia_map

Following the statements by which

admitted that the

official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

of the

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

, PSRM leader

Igor Dodon Igor Dodon (; born 18 February 1975) is a Moldovan politician who served as the 5th president of Moldova from 2016 to 2020. He currently serves as the leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova since 2024. He served as Ministry ...

announced that the socialists are withdrawing their support for the governor of Gagauzia.

is an

ex-officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ''List of Latin phrases (E)#ex officio, ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the off ...

member of the government of the Republic of Moldova throughout her mandate, being a member of the cabinets of

Chiril Gaburici Chiril Gaburici (; born 23 November 1976) is a Moldovan businessman and former Prime Minister of Moldova. Biography Chiril Gaburici was born on 23 November 1976, in Logănești, Kotovsk raion of the then Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Sovi ...

(2015),

Valeriu Streleț Valeriu Streleț (; born 8 March 1970) is a Moldovan politician who was Prime Minister of Moldova in 2015. He subsequently received a vote of no-confidence on 29 October 2015. Biography He has been a member of the Parliament of Moldova since ...

(2015–2016),

Pavel Filip Pavel Filip (born 10 April 1966) is a Moldova, Moldovan politician. In 2001–2008 he was the director of the Joint-stock company "Bucuria" and in 2008–2011, general manager of Tutun-CTC joint stock company. He was then Ministry of Informatio ...

(2016–2019),

Maia Sandu Maia Sandu (; born 24 May 1972) is a Moldovan politician who is serving as the sixth president of Moldova since 2020. She is the founder and former leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity and was Prime Minister of Moldova, prime minister o ...

(2019),

Ion Chicu Ion Chicu (; born 28 February 1972) is a Moldovan economist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Moldova between 2019 until his resignation in 2020. Biography He was born on 28 February 1972 in the village of Pîrjolteni, located in t ...

(2019–2021),

Natalia Gavrilița Natalia Gavrilița (; born 21 September 1977) is a Moldovan economist and politician who served as prime minister of Moldova from 2021 until her resignation in February 2023 after failure to get her reform package enacted.

(2021–2023) and

Dorin Recean Dorin Recean (born 17 March 1974) is a Moldovan politician, economist, and academic serving as Prime Minister of Moldova since February 2023. Since 2022 he has also served as Presidential Advisor on Defense and National Security, and Secretary ...

(2023–present).

Candidates

In the 2023 election, eight candidates registered, including one party member and seven independent candidates:

Opinion polls

Results

Controversies

Some sectors of the Romanian press criticised the fact that all the candidates were

pro-Russian Russophilia is the identification or solidarity with, appreciation of, or support for the Russia, country, Russians, people, Russian language, language, and history of Russia. One who espouses Russophilia is called a russophile. Its Opposite ...

, anti-Romanian and

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...

References

2023 in Moldova April 2023 in Europe Elections in Gagauzia History of Gagauzia Long stubs with short prose {{Moldova-election-stub