The incumbent president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, has won a second term in the presidential elections. The pro-Western candidate beat her pro-Russian opponent Alexandr Stoianoglo in the runoff. The electoral contest was characterized by accusations of Russian interference, electoral fraud and intimidation. According to the Central Election Commission, with over 99% of the votes counted in the second round, Sandu obtained 55.03% of the votes, while his competitor stopped at just under 45%.
Speaking at the headquarters of his Action and Solidarity party in the capital Chișinău, Sandu struck a conciliatory tone. The president said she had listened to both those who had voted for her and those who had voted against her. With this second mandate Sandu should give further impetus to the country’s accession process to the European Union, marking a detachment from Moscow’s influence.
Maia Sandu’s victory in the runoff
In the second round of the elections, Maia Sandu beat the former prosecutor general Alexandr Stoianoglo, of the socialist party and reputedly close to the Kremlin. Part of the country’s diaspora vote still remains pending, but analysts maintain that Sandu’s victory can be taken for granted. In the first round of the presidential elections, the Moldovan diaspora, which represents around 20% of the electorate, voted with a large majority for Sandu. “Today, dear Moldovans, you have given a lesson in democracy, worthy of being written in the history books. Freedom, truth and justice have prevailed”, said the newly re-elected president.
The semi-flop of Moldova’s pro-EU referendum
The first presidential round coincided with a referendum initiated by the president, in which Moldovans were asked whether they supported integration into the EU. On October 20, the question was approved by a minimal margin. In that electoral round Sandu had obtained 42% without however managing to obtain an absolute majority. In an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian last October, Stoianoglo denied working on Russia’s behalf, saying he supported EU membership but calling the membership referendum a “parody.” The former prosecutor also refused to criticize the Kremlin for its invasion of Ukraine, instead calling for improved relations with Moscow.
The EU celebrates Maia Sandu’s victory
Brussels welcomed Maia Sandu’s victory, after last week’s disappointment when Georgia re-elected Georgian Dream, a party considered by analysts to be pro-Moscow and authoritarian. On the evening of November 3, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Sandu on the victory and for the country’s “European future”.
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“It takes rare strength to overcome the challenges you faced in this election. I am happy to continue working with you for a European future for Moldova and its people,” von der Leyen wrote on X. The European bloc promised a multi-year 1.8 billion euro package for Moldova to help it on the accession path, made official in June this year. The president’s goal is to guarantee entry into the EU by 2030.
Chișinău poised between Brussels and Moscow
After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Moldova has oscillated between pro-Kremlin and pro-Western forces. Since his arrival in power Sandu, a former advisor to the World Bank, has invested in the process of rapprochement with the EU. Since the outbreak of war in neighboring Ukraine, the move away from Moscow’s orbit has accelerated. There are 1,500 soldiers stationed in Transnistriaa region run by pro-Russian separatists who broke away from Moldova’s government in a war in the 1990s.
The money invested by Moscow to rig the elections in Moldova
Both the presidential election and the European Union referendum have been tainted by accusations of Russian interference. Purchased votes, disinformation and negative influence on elections are the main accusations made by Sandu against the Kremlin and its allies in the country. According to Moldovan officials, Moscow would have invested around $100 million before the first vote. Part of the funds would have entered via “money couriers” stopped by police at the main airport while carrying wads of 10,000 euros in cash.
The Kremlin denied interfering in the vote. “We resolutely reject any accusation that we are somehow interfering in this. We are not,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Behind the large-scale vote-buying ploy, according to Sandu’s team, was the oligarch Ilan Shor, whose political movement was declared illegal by the Moldovan Constitutional Court in 2023. After fleeing to Israel, in 2024 Shor he is a refugee in Russia, the country of which he has obtained citizenship.
