AFTER FIVE MONTHS GAGAUZ PEOPLES'

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHISINAU 000855 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/UMB, DRL/AE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM MD SUBJECT: AFTER FIVE MONTHS GAGAUZ PEOPLES' ASSEMBLY REACHES CONSENSUS ON SPEAKER Ref: Chisinau 0711 Sensitive but Unclassified. Please Protect Accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Five months after Peoples' Assembly (PA) elections in Gagauzia, and after five attempts to elect a Speaker, PA members, including most of the Communists, elected a PA Speaker by a comfortable majority. The apparently friendly final capitulation by the Party of Communists finally ended the manoeuvring for legislative power in Gagauzia. With the election of the Speaker concluded, the Gagauz legislature can now get on with its work. End Summary. True Colors Revealed in Votes for Speaker -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Gagauzia's electorate was divided into three main forces Q those supporting Bashkan Formuzal, those in favor of Comrat Mayor Dudoglo and supporters of the Party of Communists (PCRM). First- and second-round voting in March yielded results that bore no relationship to the actual loyalties or voting intentions of the 35 members of the PA (MPAs): election winners included 10 Communists (PCRM),one from the Democratic party, one from the Social Democrats, two from Ravnopravie, and 21 independents. Voting for Speaker, which did not begin until June 12, showed a pattern of alliances after three months of maneuvering: 17 MPAs voting with the PCRM, and the other 18 voting as a coalition between supporters of Gagauz Governor Mikhail Formuzal and followers of Comrat Mayor Nicolai Dudoglo. (The 18 include eight declared for Formuzal, six for Dudoglo, and four members of Dumitru Braghis's Democratic Party.) The ability of Formuzal and Dudoglo to overcome their former enmity to work together against the Communists was the first step in Gagauz coalition-building. ¶3. (SBU) The almost-final winner for the job as Speaker was Dudoglo's sister, Ana Harmalenco, who won two July votes with an 18-17 majority each time. After fighting rear-guard actions that included boycotts and lawsuits, the Communist minority capitulated on July 31 and the PA gave Harmalenco all 30 votes of the MPAs present. Damien Caraseni, leader of the PCRM faction, was elected Deputy Speaker. Further harmony broke out shortly thereafter when President Voronin met Harmalenco and commended the Gagauz people on achieving a consensus and thus contributing to the development of the region. Moldova's Parliamentary Speaker Marian Lupu, also present at the meeting, stressed the importance of cooperation between the two legislatures. Harlamenco promised cooperation with Chisinau. Comment: Why This Outbreak of Good Will? -------------- ¶4. (SBU) It is not clear why peace and harmony finally made its appearance on the Gagauz political stage. President and PCRM chief Voronin, distracted by floods, may have tired of the wrangling and been in a sufficiently philosophic mood to make peace with his adversaries. With only 4.2% of Moldova's population, Gagauzia is sufficiently vote-poor for the PCRM to take the high road and yield graciously. It is equally possible that, given the fractious nature of Moldovan coalition politics, Voronin decided that could wait for the Formuzal and Dudoglo factions to split at some time in the future. After all, he needs only one vote from the non-Communist alliance to achieve a majority. This watch-and-wait strategy served the Communists well in Chisinau (reftel),where the PCRM turned defectors into allies and won control of City Hall, and may work again. End comment. CHISINAU 00000855 002 OF 002 Keiderling