Counting at the photo finish in the elections in the Republic of Moldova. The pro-European and pro-Western president Maia Sandu is ahead in the first round of the presidential elections, while the referendum calling for membership of the European Union to be included in the constitution remains in the balance. Just like the former Soviet Socialist Republic, which cannot decide whether to definitively lean towards Brussels and the other European capitals or remain linked to Vladimir Putin’s Russia. According to local authorities, the Kremlin has carried out a “hybrid war” to influence – through fraud and disinformation – the electoral clash and prevent the victory of the pro-EU Yes vote in the referendum.
Maia Sandu in the run-off with Alexandr Stoianoglo
Maia Sandu, the Moldovan economist and president of the country since 2020, was a little disappointed. No progress to the first round, as he hoped, but he is still ahead with 38 percent of the votes. In the runoff he will have to face his socialist rival Alexandr Stoianoglo, who obtained 28 percent of the votes. They will clash at the polls in two weeks, on November 3.
Do you say Moldova or Moldova?
But another vote awaited the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, a name assumed after the exit from the Soviet Union in place of Moldova. This is the consultative referendum which asked for the path to membership of the European Union to be included in the Constitution. Here too, the results are different from the expectations of the president in office: the almost definitive results see the yes and no votes separated by a handful of votes. A country therefore divided, which must wait for the counting until the last ballot. A chaos of appeals and ballots to be recounted is expected.
The struggle between pro-EU young people and pro-Russian older people
To sour relations between Moldova and Russia, there was Chisinau’s request for EU membership, immediately after the invasion of Ukraine. The country thus obtained candidate status together with Ukraine in June 2022. However, the vote on 20 October in the former Soviet republic highlights a rift within Moldovan society. On the one hand the nostalgic pro-Russians, especially elderly people who live in rural areas, on the other the young generations who live in cities or live abroad. The latter is the hard core on which President Sandu is counting most for entry into the EU, but they may not be enough.
Russia’s influence on voting in Moldova
With over 98 percent of the ballots counted, the “Yes” is ahead with 50.03 percent (for 730,832 votes) while the “No” is at 49.97 percent (730,088 votes): the gap is only 744 votes. The vote in Chisinau was preceded by heated controversies regarding Russia’s influence in this election cycle. Moscow would have financed some candidates, but above all made funds available for fraud and interference. According to the Moldovan authorities, there was a “hybrid war” campaign conducted by the Kremlin to destabilize the country and prevent it from continuing its path towards the European Union.
According to the accusations, pro-Moscow opposition groups were financed by external forces, false news was spread, as well as a major vote-buying scheme, which also led to dozens of arrests in the run-up to election day.
“Criminal groups, working with foreign forces hostile to our national interests, have attacked our country with tens of millions of euros, lies and propaganda, using the most shameful means to keep our citizens and our nation trapped in uncertainty and in instability”, denounced President Sandu. “We have clear evidence that these criminal groups aimed to buy 300 thousand votes, a fraud of unprecedented scale”, added the economist and politician.
