Gagauzia demands court return amid election crisis
Members of the Gagauz People's Assembly are urging Chișinău to reinstate the Comrat Court of Appeal.
In a letter submitted to Parliament, local deputies assert that without this court, elections cannot be held in the autonomous region. They criticize the judicial reform, which, according to them, left the region without its own Court of Appeal. In response, authorities remind the Gagauz elected officials that they participated in public consultations on the judicial reform's development and raised no objections at the time.
The issue of organizing elections for the new Gagauz People's Assembly was first discussed at its July 11 session in Comrat. At that time, Vice-President Gheorghi Leiciu announced that without the Court of Appeal, organizing the vote in the region would be impossible.
"We've found ourselves in a stalemate. Without a decision from Parliament and without the return of the Comrat Court of Appeal, we'll face unsolvable problems. We will be forced to completely change the legal framework in this situation," says Gheorghe Leiciu, Vice-President of the Gagauz People's Assembly.
The Government rejects these accusations, contending that the reform was discussed at all stages, including with representatives of the Gagauz autonomy.
"Regarding Gagauz autonomy, we cannot speak of independent courts within the justice system. Furthermore, the judicial reform was revised, and at that stage, all opinions were consulted and taken into account, including those of the people now criticizing this decision. The autonomous status of Gagauzia does not in any way imply control over courts. It is a cultural autonomy," explains Daniel Vodă, Government spokesperson.
Last May, Parliament approved the revision of the judicial reform. This legislative project also entailed the reconfiguration of Courts of Appeal: the Center Court of Appeal, headquartered in Chișinău; North, headquartered in Bălți; and South, headquartered in Cahul, with which the Comrat Court of Appeal merged.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
