With a marginal majority of 50.17% of the votes, “yes” prevails in the crucial referendum held in Moldavia with the question of whether the objective of the country’s integration into European Unionaccording to the almost final results.
At the same time, President Maya Sandu stated in accordance with Reuters that yesterday’s vote was marked by “unprecedented” external interference, referring to Russia.
1.5% of the votes remain to be counted
The marginal result – with less than 1.5% of votes counted – is far from a resounding endorsement of the path to the EU. which Sandu pursued during his four years in command of this small former Soviet republic involved in a tug of war between Russia and the West.
In the presidential elections also held yesterday, Sandou won 42 percent of the vote and his main rival, former attorney general Alexander Stoyanoglou, 26 percent, paving the way for a runoff between them on November 3.
The two votes, which took place amid allegations of election interference, were seen as a test of the country’s commitment to joining the European Union and permanently breaking away from Moscow’s orbit.
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The marginal referendum result puts Sandou in a weaker position as he heads into the second round, as he strongly supports EU membership.
Moldova began the long process of accession negotiations in June and, under Sandu, aimed to complete them by 2030. Relations with Moscow soured when Sandu condemned the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and diversified its gas supplies away from Russia.
Stoyanoglou said that once in power he will pursue a “balanced” foreign policy that will include relations with the EU, Russia, the United States and China. He boycotted yesterday’s referendum, calling it a ploy to boost Sandu in the elections.
“Fraud on an unprecedented scale”
In the early hours of this morning, Sandu addressed Moldovan citizens, saying there is “clear evidence that criminal groups working with foreign forces hostile to our national interests” sought to buy 300,000 votes.
He said this amounted to “fraud on an unprecedented scale” and added: “Criminal groups… have attacked our country with tens of millions of euros, lies and propaganda, using the most shameful means to keep our citizens and nation trapped.” in uncertainty and instability”. Pending final results, he said, Moldova “will respond with firm decisions.”
In the run-up to the vote, authorities repeatedly reported coordinated efforts to interfere with the vote by fugitive tycoon Ilan Shor, who lives in Russia. Russia, which accuses Sandu’s government of “Russophobia”, has denied any involvement, while Shor denies doing anything reprehensible.
Police accused Shore, who was convicted in absentia of fraud and his role in the theft of $1 billion, of trying to pay a network of at least 130,000 voters to vote “no” and support “our candidate” in the election.
According to Reuters, Shore openly offered on social media to pay Moldovans to persuade others to vote a certain way and said it was a legitimate use of his money. In the early hours of this morning, he declared that Moldovans voted “No”. “Congratulations today, you lost the battle,” he added, addressing Santa Claus by his first name, Maya.
In the run-up to the elections, authorities removed online content they claimed contained disinformation, announced they had discovered a program in Russia to train Moldovans to cause mass unrest, and opened criminal proceedings against Shor’s allies.
When the first results started coming in last night, around 57% of Moldovans initially appeared to have voted “No” in the referendum. As the vote count progressed, the “Yes” gradually increased until it surpassed the “No” in the early hours of this morning.
Political analyst Valeriu Pasha said “Yes” had an advantage only due to the unusually high turnout of the Moldovan diaspora, with voters living abroad overwhelmingly supporting EU membership.
With information from Reuters, APE-MPE