Raman investigation of glasses xGeS₂-Ga₂S₃-yMCl, Ga₂S₃-2MCl (where M = Ag, Tl, Rb, Cs) and melt Ga₂S₃-2CsCl has been carried out for various x and y. Raman spectra have been interpreted in the frame of the model that gallium is fourfold coordinated in the chalcogenide/halide glasses and forms complex anions such as [GaS_3/2Cl]^1-. Stability of these units and type of their interconnection (corner shared or edge shared tetrahedra) depends on cation radius of a metal and correlates with glass-forming ability.