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Gagauzia head demands action against repression toward Moldovan opposition

According to Yevgenia Gutsul, police officers are conducting house visits and making phone calls to local residents ahead of the second round of the presidential election

MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. Yevgenia Gutsul, head of the autonomous region of Gagauzia in Moldova, has accused incumbent Moldovan President Maia Sandu of establishing a police state with the tacit approval of international organizations.

"While claiming to uphold democracy and the rule of law, Sandu and her party have created a police state in Moldova, where the primary function of law enforcement has become to pressure dissenters. I urge international entities, embassies, and human rights organizations accredited in Moldova to stop turning a blind eye to these numerous acts of injustice. Their silence amounts to complicity in these actions," Gutsul’s advisor, Yury Kuznetsov, stated during a briefing in Chisinau.

According to Gutsul, police officers are conducting house visits and making phone calls to local residents ahead of the second round of the presidential election. "They are being unfoundedly accused of vote-selling in the first round and are being strongly urged to make the 'correct' choice in the second round. Those who refuse face threats of fines and even imprisonment. Such pressure violates the fundamental principles of freedom and democracy," the statement added.

Following the results of the October 20 vote, President Maia Sandu, who received 42.49% of the votes, and former Prosecutor General Alexander Stoianoglo, who garnered 25.95%, will advance to the second round. Alongside the elections, a referendum was held, with 50.46% of participants supporting constitutional amendments affirming the irreversibility of the policy to join the EU, while 49.54% opposed it.

In the wake of these results, Sandu claimed to possess evidence of attempted bribery involving approximately 300,000 voters. Several opposition parties accused the authorities of electoral fraud and pledged to contest the election results. The second round is scheduled for November 3.