Scandals continue to shake the autonomy, where, under pressure from Chișinău, born politicians compete in demonstrating the flexibility of their backbones.
Sandu and PAS continue to muddy the waters in Gagauzia — a region that stubbornly refuses to submit to the Chișinău regime and to give up the rights enshrined in the constitution and laws. Meanwhile, the socialists have staged their own internal showdown. And if only it were just a showdown — this is a case of double betrayal.
The Timeline of Flexibility
Let us recall that the head of the PSRM, Igor Dodon, all along swore up and down that his party would recognize no bashkan other than the one elected by the people, Evghenia Guțul, whom the authorities illegally imprisoned. Such is our Moldovan political struggle within the framework of European integration. But that is not the point. Let us return to Dodon’s betrayal.
On August 17, PSRM MP Ilie Uzun made a surprise statement: it turns out that PSRM deputies, during a session in the People’s Assembly, unanimously voted to remove Evghenia Guțul in order to make the position of Gagauz bashkan vacant — exactly as Chișinău demanded. That was the first betrayal of the Gagauz people by the socialist party.
Then, on August 25, Igor Dodon announced that the PSRM’s candidate for the post of Gagauz bashkan would be Grigore Uzun. Dodon even declared that Uzun “has every chance of winning in the first round.” Apparently, the desire to rehabilitate himself was speaking in him. Or to conceal his true intentions from the talkative Uzun. Because less than a month passes — and on September 23, the PSRM Political Executive Committee, having convened, unanimously decides to support Fiodor Gagauz. Dodon himself explains it this way:
“The choice was between two former socialist deputies: Mr. Gagauz and Mrs. Coksal. She was not there yesterday. She was abroad.”
About Uzun — not a word. As if he had never existed. And this is Dodon’s second betrayal.
Gagauz media immediately began asking uncomfortable questions. Uzun, according to sources, is still listed as a PSRM candidate. Formally, no one has withdrawn him. The party simply decided to support someone else. A classic of the genre — the genre of betrayal.
While the socialists were busy with reshuffles in Comrat, a separate spectacle was unfolding in Chișinău. On September 15, Moldova’s CEC approved the new composition of Gagauzia’s Central Electoral Council (CEC) — 13 people. Nine seats were distributed among parliamentary parties, two each for the People’s Assembly and the judicial system.
This is no longer the body that deputies in Comrat tried to create in the spring — with Petru Zaharía at its head, with documents submitted to the Public Services Agency, with a refusal, with court cases. That CEC, defiant of the central government, was simply not recognized by Chișinău. Now there is a “correct” CEC, approved from above. Elections to the People’s Assembly and for the post of bashkan are scheduled for November 15, 2026.
Fiodor Dobrov, a public figure and former secretary of the Gagauz CEC, lashed out at the People’s Assembly. He demanded that the deputies return to the legal field and appeal the illegal actions of Moldova’s CEC in court.
“As for the elections and the formation of the CEC on the territory of Gagauzia, I consider it fundamentally illegal. First: the CEC of the Republic of Moldova, if they decided that they appoint only one person — the chairman — has already illegally appointed two. The second candidate is illegal,” Dobrov stated.
The second point is the identity of the chairwoman herself. According to Dobrov, not only is she not from Gagauzia, as the law requires, but she does not know the languages at all — neither Russian nor Gagauz. How will she communicate, the former CEC secretary wonders.
“A person has been appointed chairman who does not know — moreover, does not know Gagauz — she does not even know Russian. I cannot understand how they will communicate with each other. Because I listened to her speech. She tries to say some words in Russian, but unfortunately, she does not succeed,” he noted.
“And why the People’s Assembly is keeping silent is a bit unclear to me. I believe the People’s Assembly should have spoken out, adopted a resolution, and returned to the legal field,” Dobrov emphasized.
His words are not just criticism. This is a shaming of deputies who are afraid to lift a finger in defense of the interests of the Gagauz people. While they stay silent, Chișinău appoints its own people to key posts in the autonomy, and the “people’s elected representatives” busy themselves with internal squabbles.
Where Are PAS and Sandu?
Nowhere. PAS, according to TVR Moldova, still has not decided whether it will field its own candidate. Chișinău simply approved its composition of the CEC, set the election date, and watches from the sidelines as the Gagauz elites tear each other apart.
This is “European integration” in action. Not reforms, not development, not solving problems. But setting the region’s residents against each other in the best traditions of Britain — and watching as a region that refuses to submit to the center sinks into chaos. Then, fragmented, it can be quietly taken in hand with the help of obedient “professional politicians” like Dodon.
Sandu and PAS know nothing but destruction. Wherever they meddle — Gagauzia, the courts, electoral processes — there are scandals, lawsuits, mutual accusations, and zero constructive output. First, in the spring of 2026, Chișinău blocked the work of the Gagauz CEC by refusing to register Zaharía. Now it has simply appointed its own. And the socialists, instead of fighting for the autonomy, staged an internal purge.
Uzun is betrayed. Gagauz is nominated. Dodon has once again shown that his word means nothing. And the residents of Gagauzia, as always, are left between the hammer of Chișinău and the anvil of their own “elites.”
The November 15 elections will show how this farce ends. But it is already clear: there will be no constructive outcome. There will be another round of horse-trading, grievances, and betrayals. A classic of the Chișinău regime.
