Moldova’s president hits out at Putin, condemns “attack on democracy” in EU referendum tie

Moldova’s President Maia Sandu on Sunday night condemned the “unprecedented attack on our country’s freedom and democracy” by “foreign forces” as a referendum on joining the European Union remained close with a majority of votes counted.

Moldovans went to the polls early in the day in a presidential election and a referendum on EU membership, a key moment in the tug-of-war between Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the West over the future of this small country in south-eastern Europe. Landlocked and with a population of approximately 2.5 million inhabitants.

Supporters and opponents of Moldova’s accession to the EU remained tied on a technicality after 98.38% of the votes cast in the referendum were counted. According to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Moldova, the proposal to include the country’s accession to the European Union (EU) in the Constitution as a national objective received 50.07% of the votes, while No He got 49.93% marks. But the results may still vary somewhat, as votes from the large Moldovan diaspora in favor of EU membership are still being counted.

On the other hand, the results of the presidential election showed that the current President Sandu won the first round with about 38% of the votes, but now in the second round he will face his nearest rival, former prosecutor Alexander Stoianglou – a Russian socialist.

The double vote in one of Europe’s poorest countries was seen as a key test for Sandu’s pro-EU agenda, having described a referendum to confirm Moldovan EU membership as “irrevocable”. I was urged to vote “yes”.

The results will disappoint Sandu’s supporters and his allies in Brussels. Pre-election polls indicated that Sandu maintained a comfortable lead over his main rival, Stoianoglou, and other candidates, while polls showed that around 60% of voters supported a pro-EU path to the referendum.

Sandu, a 52-year-old former World Bank adviser, was first elected president in November 2020 amid a wave of popularity as an anti-corruption reformer with a pro-European agenda.

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Moldova has oscillated between pro-Western and pro-Russian cycles, but under Sandu it accelerated its move away from Moscow, especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Both elections were held amid claims by Moldovan officials that Moscow and its proxies had waged an intense “hybrid war” campaign to destabilize the country and derail its path to the EU.

“Moldova today and in recent months has faced an unprecedented attack on our country’s freedom and democracy,” Sandu told supporters in the capital Chisinau as votes were counted on Sunday. He said that “criminal groups” had tried to “undermine”. Democratic process. “We are waiting for the final results and will respond with firm decisions.”

The charges against Vladimir Putin’s Russia point to the financing of pro-Kremlin opposition groups, the spread of disinformation, interference in local elections and supporting a major vote-buying scheme.

In particular, authorities accused pro-Russian businessman Ilan Shor, a staunch opponent of EU membership, of directing a destabilizing campaign from Moscow.

Earlier this month, national police chief Viorel Cernousanu accused Shor and Moscow of setting up a complex “mafia-like” voter buying system and recruiting 130,000 Moldovans – about 10% of the normal turnout – to vote against and in favor of the referendum. Accused of paying bribes to pro-Russian candidates, he called it an “unprecedented direct attack”.

On Thursday, police said they had also uncovered a program in which hundreds of people were sent to Russia for training in organizing riots and social unrest.

Thus, Moldovan officials said that Russia has spent about $100 million on Moldova’s electoral processes this year.

Moldova applied for EU membership after Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, which Sandu condemned, while thousands of Ukrainian refugees fled to Chisinau.

Moldova officially began negotiations to join the EU in June, although skepticism remains in Brussels about the country’s ability to carry out the necessary democratic and judicial reforms in the near future.

Observers believe Sandu may now face a tough second round against a united anti-EU and more pro-Moscow opposition front led by Stoianglou.

Former Attorney General Stoianglou, dismissed by Sandu, urged the public to boycott the referendum or vote “no”, describing it as a “cynical” maneuver to increase Sandu’s popularity.

In an interview with The Guardian, Stoianglou denied working on behalf of Russia. But he declined to criticize the Kremlin for its invasion of Ukraine and advocated improving relations with Moscow.