Pro-European referendum deepens divisions in Moldova, candidate for EU accession international

Moldova’s President Maia Sandu said Sunday morning that voting is not just a “stamp on a piece of paper” but an expression of your “destiny.” The citizens of this country (2.5 million inhabitants) will continue to be divided into two parts, polarized between possible accession to the EU, which was asked about in a constitutional referendum on election day, and Russia’s siren song – pro- Russian structures have campaigned for a boycott of the consultation. With more than 90% of the scrutiny and final counting of overseas ballots pending, the pro-European option defended by the head of state suffered a serious blow. At midnight, with a very serious expression, Sandu appeared before the media to read a statement in which he condemned the “unprecedented” attack carried out by criminal groups and “hostile foreign forces” to buy 300,000 votes. “Their goal was to undermine the democratic process. “To spread fear and terror in the society,” the President said. The leader of the pro-Europe Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) reported the launch of an investigation into electoral fraud.

The latest polls suggested that the outcome of the referendum would be favorable to reforming the constitution to protect Community Club membership as a pillar of this Eastern European country’s future. If the outcome of the advanced investigation is upheld, the pro-European path outlined in recent years will be at the mercy of any change in the government’s political direction – legislative elections will be held in June 2025. Current negotiations with the EU have been open since December, but officials estimate the process will reach its final stage in 2030, as long as Moldova meets Brussels’ conditions. And if pressure from Moscow does not have much effect on the population.

“The will of the people should determine their destiny, not dirty money or lies,” Sandu said in his first speech to the press from the Licelul Teoretic Petru Rares educational center in the capital Chisinau on Sunday morning after casting his vote. Without mentioning it, the re-election candidates were referring to a hybrid campaign directed by the Kremlin through propaganda, disinformation and vote buying. In recent months, security forces have accused Israeli-born Moldovan oligarchs of hiring thousands of voters and even training citizens on Russian territory to participate in protests and disorders in the country. .

Moldovans were also called to elect a president, with Sandu as the favourite. In these elections for the head of state, 51.55% of those who came to vote participated, which is eight points above the first round in 2020. This was not enough for any of the major candidates to gain more than 50% of the vote. Sandu, with about 39% of the ballots cast, will have to compete in the second round against former Attorney General Alexander Stoianglou, leader of the Socialist Party, with 28%. In third place was populist Renato Usati with 13% support, followed by Irina Vlah, an independent candidate, who received 5% support. This new election event will be held on 3 November.

Election day proceeded this Sunday amid cold and clouds with very modest participation figures. A move that kept in tension until the morning those sectors of society that wanted to hasten the approach of Brussels. To this reporter invited by Moldova’s National Center for Defense of European Integration, the message from speakers at the polling stations was clear: more Europe. Pro-Russian rhetoric proved more elusive. “All the problems come from there, from Moscow,” Andre Moraru, 48, said after submitting his ballot in the morning with his son at Licelul Teoretic Petru Rares. “If the EU means more economy, Russia means more disinformation,” said this employee at a car rental company.

Manoli Victor, a 35-year-old engineer, sitting next to the stairs of the same center with his wife, 32-year-old teacher Alina, offers a simple explanation for his special attachment to Europe: “I want better roads for my country. ” , A practical answer, but very much in line with what Moldova has to offer if it continues its commitment to the EU. Infrastructure improvements are one of the sections included in a 1.8 billion euro package committed by Brussels on the 10th, called the Growth Plan. Asked about the Kremlin’s maneuvers, Viktor said cautiously: “What they are doing here is not right.” Russia has influence in Moldova and this pairing is a true reflection. They believe that after the attack on neighboring Ukraine in February 2022, they had made preparations in case they had to flee with their three children.

fight for youth vote

More than 1.5 million Moldovans went to vote this Sunday. About 240,000 did so from one of the electoral posts abroad, where another 1.2 million citizens live. The former Soviet republic, like many other European democracies, will have to fight to attract the youth vote, which the referendum clearly sought to strengthen: only 8% of voters turned out to vote, according to investigative data, according to the Central Election Commission. According to , youth between 18 and 25 years exercised their right to vote.

Corina Ryu, 40, went to her polling station in the afternoon, a daycare center in the town of Straseni, northwest of the capital. Watching his son running in the school park, Ryu explained that he wanted to choose the path that the country would take for children like him and for that reason, he voted for “freedom, stability and the future”. It didn’t take much digging to find out that this finance worker at a communications company had checked the yes box on the referendum ballot. However, he clarified that the Russian interference efforts condemned by the authorities do not directly affect him: “It’s not in my mind or in the minds of my friends or surroundings, but maybe it’s in the minds of my parents. Is.”

Ten steps away from Raiu, 72-year-old Elena Miron, with her daughter Christina, influential person Out of 36, after voting as a family. With laughter that accompanied the first rays of the afternoon sun, the young woman admitted that people of her generation are “more open” to the EU than older people, whom she described as “more manipulative”. “For example, as soon as they talk to them about pensions, it has an impact on them.” “Where they may be afraid, where they are unsafe, is where they are attacked,” he said. After nodding, his mother confidently shared something that many in Moldova still agree with: “Even in this city there are still pro-Russian citizens who want to block Europe. But we’re going to climb that ladder.” This increase, now and after the elections, appears to be even more rapid.