Pro-Russians Battle it out in Elections in Moldova’s Gagauzia

Moldova's autonomous region of Gagauzia goes to elections on Sunday for a new governor, or Bashkan, with eight candidates in the race, most of them with pro-Russian views.

The elections in Gagauzia represent a first test before local elections throughout the country due in autumn, and for presidential elections that will take place next year.

The southern region of about 150,000 inhabitants is inhabited by an Orthodox Christian people who speak Turkish but sympathise with Moscow. The leadership in the main city, Comrat, often clashes with the Chisinau authorities.

Nicolae Dudoglo, Grigori Uzun, Mihail Formuzal, Victor Petrov, Dmitri Croitor, Serghei Cernev, Evghenia Gutul and Seghei Cimpoies are the eight on the list. The current Bashkan, Irina Vlah, has held the position for two consecutive mandates since 2015 and so cannot run again.

Polls put Uzun, of the Moldovan Socialist Party, PSRM, in the lead, with 15.1 per cent support, followed by Evghenia Gutul, of the Ilan Shor Party, on 13.5 per cent. Dmitri Croitor, Moldova's ambassador to Turkey, is in third place with 11.2 per cent.

Guzun and Gutul represent the main pro-Russian parliamentary parties. Socialist leader Igor Dodon is close to the Kremlin. The fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor has meanwhile promised to invest 500 million euros in Gagauzia and create 7,000 jobs if his candidate wins.

Croitor, an independent candidate, is more moderate and is supported by Turkey, which exerts a strong influence through its language affinity with the Gagauz and through its development projects in the region.

Russia has also tried to sway the election. On April 17, Moldova banned the planned entry of Rustam Minnihanov, president of Tatarstan, a republic in the Russian Federation...