Candidates for the People's Assembly in Comrat must be at least 21 and reside in Gagauzia for at least three years
Citizens of the Republic of Moldova who wish to run for a seat in the People's Assembly of the Gagauz autonomy must be at least 21 years old, have lived in the region for at least three years, and maintain their domicile within the autonomy's territory on election day. The Central Electoral Commission has outlined the requirements for participating in the People's Assembly election in Comrat, scheduled for November 15, 2026.
According to the CEC, deputies to the People's Assembly are elected for a four-year term through universal, equal, direct, and secret suffrage, with votes freely expressed.
"Citizens of the Republic of Moldova with the right to vote are eligible for election as deputies to the People's Assembly of Gagauzia if they have reached the age of 21—including on election day—have resided or currently reside in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia for at least three years, and are living within its territory on the date of the election," the CEC informs.
Political parties meeting statutory requirements, electoral blocs formed and registered under the law, and citizens running as independent candidates have the right to nominate candidates.
However, independent candidates face an additional condition regarding political affiliation and support.
To participate in the elections as independent contenders, individuals must be "citizens of the Republic of Moldova who put forward their own candidacy independently of political parties and electoral blocs and who, starting 70 days prior to election day, have not held membership in a political party nor publicly declared support for a political party."
The same 70-day rules apply to individuals nominated by political parties and electoral blocs. Candidates must meet the requirements established for independents and must not have been members of any party other than the one nominating them—or, in the case of electoral blocs, other than the parties forming the bloc. Candidates are nominated by parties and electoral blocs through decisions made by their authorized bodies, in accordance with the organizations' statutes or the agreements establishing the blocs. These decisions must be confirmed by official minutes or excerpts from the minutes of the respective meetings.
For independent candidates, registration is conditional upon collecting a specific number of signatures from voters within the constituency where they are running.
"To be registered, an independent candidate must be supported by at least 1% of the voters in the single-member constituency where they are running, but by no fewer than 100 individuals," states the CEC press release.
An exception applies to female candidates and to candidates in constituencies with fewer than 500 voters. In these cases, the signature lists must contain at least 50 signatures.
The Central Electoral Council of Comrat will determine the minimum number of signatures required for each constituency. The CEC also specifies that the number of signatures submitted for verification cannot exceed the required minimum by more than 50%.
Independent candidates, as well as those nominated by parties or electoral blocs, register in the single-member constituency corresponding to the locality where they are running. Each political party or electoral bloc may nominate only one candidate per constituency. Candidates must submit their registration documents in person to one of the three first-level constituency electoral councils established by the Central Electoral Commission within the Gagauz autonomy.
"The competent electoral council reviews the submitted documents and adopts a decision within seven days regarding the candidate's registration or, where applicable, the refusal of registration," the Central Electoral Commission reports.
The CEC says the Regulation on the nomination and registration of candidates for the elections to the People's Assembly of Gagauzia sets out all details on candidate nomination and registration. The document was approved on September 15, 2026.
Elections for the People's Assembly in Comrat are scheduled for November 15, 2026, to be held concurrently with the election for the position of Bashkan.
