The „Adept” Association for Participative Democracy and the League for the Defence of Human Rights (LADOM) announce they will monitor the parliamentary elections in Gagauzia, Info-Prim Neo reports. The „Adept” president, Igor Boţan, explained at a news conference on Tuesday, February 26, that, although no monitoring reports had been made so far, the experts had watched the campaign. According to him, no major incidents have been recorded. The procedure of registering those 161 candidacies, 44 less than in 2003, has gone without any problem. However the experts point out a feeble, lame character of the race, mainly because of scarce funds. So far, the members of those 35 constituency electoral offices have received no wages, and are still acting as volunteers, while the wannabes finance their campaign from own means, says Igor Boţan. The electoral law provides for funding the Gagauz elections from the local budget. The experts believe the Moldovan Government could have resorted to the reserve fund to back up the elections. In the „Adept” leader’s opinion, the Government has lost the chance to support an ethnic minority and its autonomy, what could have yielded in improving Moldova’s image. „Adept” administers a web portal www.alegeri.md with information in three languages about the elections in the Gagauz Legislature as part of its project „Educating and Mobilising Voters as to the Elections for the Gagauz People’s Assembly.” The association vows to unfold electoral education activities. Citizens will be informed through TV and radio spots, and posters on the correct voting procedure and will be encouraged to take active part in the poll. The LADOM president, Paul Strutzescu, says three regional coordinators of the League will work in Comrat, Ciadar-Lunga and Vulcanesti. On the election day, the poll will be monitored by 80 LADOM observers, who’ll report on developments and will rapidly tabulate the results upon the closure of ballot boxes. They are going to issue four monitoring reports, as the first one is expected for earlier next week. The parliamentary elections in Gagauzia are scheduled for March 16. The hopefuls gathering 50% + 1 votes in the first round will become deputies in the People’s Assembly. The second round will be held in the constituencies where no candidate will have got the needed number of ballots, as two candidates with most of the votes will fight.