Moldova rejects President Sandu’s European path at the polls

2024-10-20 20:40:00

Moldova went to the polls on Sunday to see if its inhabitants want the president to go to Brussels. Maia Sandu or they prefer to move closer to Russia again as some of their successors did. The confirmation was expected in duplicate: in a referendum on membership of Moldova in the European Union and in presidential electionsthey all celebrated on the same day. The surprise came in the first elections of the referendum, since the “no” was imposed with a 57% of “yes” votes, with a 44%”, according to data from the Central Election Commission, with 50% registered.

As for the presidential elections, with 22% registered, Sandu is ahead of his electoral rivals with 33.84%, slightly above his main rival, the pro-Russian socialist Alexander Stoianoglo, with 30.15%, as the preliminary results of the elections indicate Central Election Commission Moldavian. If no candidate exceeds an absolute majority of votes, as is the case at the time of going to press, a second round of elections will be held. November 3 in which only the two most voted candidates would participate.

With the polls already closed, local time, close to 50% of Moldovan voters1,498,505 specifically voted, according to national news agency Moldpres. This figure represents an improvement over the last presidential election, in which a 41% of the population voted. Pro-Russian sectors tried to boycott the referendum so that the referendum would not be achieved. 33% participation.the minimum required for this process to be binding on the Moldovan executive.

The capital is the area most favorable to Moldova’s entry into Europe and to President Sandu, while in the regions the trend is more pro-Russian and in favor of the socialist candidate Stoianoglo. This trend is particularly evident in rebellious Transnistria (which is not under the control of Chisinau and whose voters go to polling stations outside that territory) and in Gagauzia, an autonomous region where an ethnic minority other than the Moldavian one lives.

Russian influence

One of the main fears of the Moldovan government was the Russian influence in the country. This small former Soviet state knows what it means to be in Russia’s orbit (it was part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union for decades), and even once it regained its independence after the collapse of the USSR, it continues to have received pressure from Moscow through gas supply and support Unrecognized state of Transnistria. And today is no exception because the authorities were worried about what could happen with the vote.

Ilan Shorpolitician close to Moscow and on the run from Moldovan justice for money laundering and corruption (he participated in the so-called “robbery of the century” in which more than a billion euros were stolen from the country’s banks, the equivalent of 13% of Moldovan GDP), was one of the promoters of the “no”, even going so far as to promise money to those who voted in favor of this option in the referendum. He did so from Russia, where he resides and where he recently received citizenship in May 2024. His formation led to some protests in 2023 against the Moldovan government and was outlawed by the country’s Constitutional Court, which argued that every political formation “must defend pluralism. “Politics, the rule of law and the territorial integrity of Moldova. He later tried to create a new party, but it disbanded before the local elections on charges of receiving illegal money from Russia.

The Kremlin has denied allegations of interference in the electoral process. This is how Dmitri Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, sees it, declaring in front of the media that from his point of view “the fact is that there are many political forces and citizens there who want to have good relations with Russia, and they are denied this Right.” Chisinau a limit Russia’s influence blocked some Russian state media in 2023.