Second round of Gagauzia elections recognized valid

CHISINAU, December 27 (Itar-Tass) -- The second round of the bashkan
(administration chief) elections was held in the Gagauzia autonomy in
southern Moldova on Sunday. The elections were recognized valid, because
over 50% from 107,000 voters participated in the voting with a 33.3%
required turnout level, the Central Elections Commission (CEC) reported.
The voting was held without any violations, the CEC cited the observers as
saying.
All polling stations are closed now and the vote count is going on.
The preliminary election results are expected to be made public by Monday
morning. Two candidates were running for bashkan, namely incumbent bashkan
Mikhail Formuzal and Comrat Mayor Nikolai Dudoglo. Political experts
believe that the victory in the second round depends from who will gain
31% of votes, which were cast in the first round in favour of a candidate
from the opposition Communist Party Irina Vlah, who was defeated in the
first round.
The Gagauzia autonomy was established under the law on its special
status approved by Moldova's parliament in December 1994. This law put an
end to three years of standoff, when the Turkic-language Gagauzians
proclaimed the Gagauz Republic in southern Moldova amid the struggle for
national revival. Chisinau announced the self-proclaimed republic
illegitimate and thousands of armed Moldovan volunteers headed by the
leader of the Moldovan People's Front and the then prime minister, Mircea
Druk went to the southern rebellious region to suppress the Gagauzians.
The interior troops dispatched by the Soviet Union president Mikhail
Gorbachev averted the bloodshed.