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Moldova's Sandu Heading To Presidential Runoff, As EU Vote Tilts Toward 'Yes' Camp

By RFE/RL's Moldovan Service October 21, 2024

CHISINAU -- Almost final results show pro-European President Maia Sandu has won the first round of Moldova's presidential election but will head to a runoff, while a referendum on European Union integration slowly turned in favor of the "yes" camp early on October 21.

With more than 98.5 percent of the vote counted, some 50.16 percent of Moldovans votes "yes," gaining a razor-thin margin over those who voted against -- 49.84.

Electoral commission officials have said full preliminary results will be released around 10 a.m. local time on October 21.

The likely positive final outcome of the referendum, which for most of the night was tilted in favor of those who rejected closer integration with the 27-member bloc, appears to have been influenced by the votes from Moldova's strong Western diaspora, despite allegations of Russian meddling.

Sandu said in a statement early on October 21 that the balloting came under an "unprecedented" assault from "criminal groups" that tried to buy hundreds of thousands of votes in an attempt to "undermine a democratic process."

Sandu -- in her reelection bid -- came out on top of 11 candidates vying for the presidency, solidifying her initially slim lead as more results came in early on October 21, but falling short of the 50 percent margin needed to avoid a runoff.

With more than 98.5 percent of the vote counted, Sandu was ahead with 42.07 percent and would face second-placed pro-Russia Socialist Alexandr Stoianoglo, who garnered 26.31 percent, in a runoff vote on November 3.

In third place was businessman Renato Usatii, a former Mayor of Moldova's second largest city, Balti, with 13.72 percent of the votes.

Many observers billed Moldova's dual elections as crucial to helping decide the nation's future direction -- whether it will feature closer ties to Europe and the West or turn more toward Russia.

"Moldova faced today and in recent months an unprecedented assault on freedom and democracy," Sandu said early on October 21. "Criminal groups working with foreign forces have attacked our country with tens of millions of euros, lies, and propaganda...to keep our country trapped in uncertainty and instability," adding that "clear evidence" showed crime groups attempting to buy off as many as 300,000 votes.

"We are waiting for the final results, and we will respond with firm decisions," Sandu said in her statement.

Chisinau's Western backers have repeatedly expressed concerns about Russian influence in Moldova more than three decades after it gained independence from the Soviet Union.

A "no" vote in the referendum would not preclude future EU membership, but it would deal a serious blow to Sandu and her pro-European allies and hamper accession efforts for years to come.

Turnout in the presidential vote was over 51.6 percent, or more than 1.56 million votes, as long lines were reported at some polling stations in Moldova and at sites outside the country, including France, Romania, Russia, and Greece.

A delegation of electoral observers from more than a dozen countries helped to monitor the two polls in Moldova.

The U.S.-educated Sandu, who came to power in an upset victory against Moscow-backed incumbent Igor Dodon in 2020, faced 10 challengers led by Stoianoglo and populist Usatii in her bid for reelection.

The votes could provide valuable lessons for Sandu's allies and the opposition ahead of parliamentary elections next summer that will be a referendum on four years of rule by the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) that she founded eight years ago.

Moldova's presidency holds limited direct power, but Sandu has parlayed her pro-Western message and leverage with the liberal PAS into limited reforms and formal EU candidacy for her fractured former Soviet republic.

One of her most ambitious moves has been eliminating landlocked Moldova's reliance on Russian natural gas since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but that has contributed to inflation and other economic hardships for many of Moldova's 2.4 million residents.

Aside from stark warnings by local officials, including Moldova's foreign minister, U.S. and other Western officials have pointed fingers at Russia, citing "very clear action by the Russians to undermine this upcoming election and referendum."

Russia, which maintains hundreds of troops at a former Soviet base in Moldova's heavily Russian-speaking breakaway region of Transdniester, denies intruding on the Moldovan vote.

Since his party was banned by the government and then the Moldovan Constitutional Court last year for allegedly fomenting a coup, convicted oligarch Ilan Shor has been accused of a multimillion-dollar scheme to pay anti-EU voters and influencers and has been linked to other schemes from his Russian exile to promote Russia among Moldovans and foment dissatisfaction with their government.

Days before the voting, authorities said they arrested four people and warned that dozens more had been trained in Russia and the Balkans to "destabilize" the country after the vote.

The amendments at issue in the constitutional referendum would include confirmation in the preamble of Moldovans' "European identity," the "irreversibility of the European course" of the country, and integration as a national "strategic objective."

It would also add a section allowing for accession on the basis of a majority vote in Moldova's 101-member parliament.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/moldova-vote-sandu- russia-meddling-european-union/33165749.html

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Moldova's Sandu Heading To Presidential Runoff, As EU Vote Tilts Toward 'Yes' Camp