Moldovans voted by a narrow majority to join the European Union, near-final results showed Monday after a key referendum marred by accusations of Russian interference.
On Sunday, Moldova held key votes in a presidential election and a referendum on EU membership, marking a critical moment in the continuing fight between Russia and the West over management of the small landlocked nation in Eastern Europe, home of 2.5 million people.
After almost 99% of the votes were counted in the referendum that asked voters to choose whether to enshrine a path to the EU in the country's constitution, the “yes” vote moved to first place with 50.18 % of a total of 1.4 million votes cast, according to the Central Electoral Commission.
Separate results of the presidential elections showed that the current pro-Western president, Maia Sandu, led the first round of voting with 41.91%. He will face his closest competitor, Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor backed by pro-Russian socialists, in the runoff in two weeks.
The double vote in one of Europe's poorest countries was seen as a key test of Sandu's pro-European agenda, as he had urged Moldovans to vote yes in the referendum to affirm EU accession as a constitutional goal. irreversible”. The close result of the referendum will disappoint Sandu's supporters and their allies in Brussels.
Pre-election polls indicated that Sandu had a comfortable lead over Stoianoglo and other candidates, while surveys suggested that around 60% of voters supported the pro-EU path in the run-up to the referendum.
Moldova applied to join the EU after Russia's large-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, which was condemned by Sandu and many in the country when tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees fled to its capital, Chișinău. Moldova officially began EU accession negotiations in June, although there remains widespread skepticism about the country's ability to implement the necessary democratic and judicial reforms in the near future.
Observers believe a weakened Sandu could face a tough second round against a united professional Moscow opposition front led by Stoianoglo.
The two votes took place amid claims by Moldovan authorities that Moscow and its proxies had orchestrated an intense “hybrid war” campaign to destabilize the country and derail its path to the EU.
Accusations against Moscow included funding pro-Kremlin opposition groups, spreading disinformation, meddling in local elections and supporting a major vote-buying scheme.
As votes were counted Sunday, Sandu blamed “foreign forces” for orchestrating an “unprecedented attack on our country’s freedom and democracy.”
“We have clear evidence that these criminal groups intended to buy 300,000 votes, a fraud of unprecedented scale,” Sandu added. “Their objective was to undermine a democratic process.”
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In particular, Moldovan officials have accused fugitive pro-Russian businessman Ilan Shor, a staunch opponent of EU membership, of carrying out a destabilizing campaign from Moscow.
Earlier this month, national police chief Viorel Cernăuțanu accused Shor and Moscow of setting up a complex “mafia-style” voter purchase scheme and bribing 130,000 Moldovans (almost 10% of the voter turnout). regular) to vote against the referendum and in favor. of Russia-friendly candidates in what he called an “unprecedented direct attack.”
Last week, law enforcement agencies said they had also uncovered a program in which hundreds of people were brought to Russia to receive training in organizing riots and civil unrest.
Shor, who lives in Moscow and denies any wrongdoing, has openly offered on social media to pay Moldovans to convince others to vote a certain way and said it was a legitimate use of the money he earned. In the early hours of Monday, he claimed that Moldovans had voted against the referendum.
Meanwhile, Sandu told his supporters Sunday night that he “will not back down from defending democracy and freedom.”
“We are waiting for the final results and we will respond with firm decisions,” he added.