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The referendum held in Moldova on its accession to the European Union has given its verdict at the last minute. The “yes” won by a very small margin. There are strong suspicions of Russian interference.
“Prove it” is Russia’s reaction, through the voice of Dmitry Peskov, to the accusations of the pro-European Moldovan President, Maia Sandu. She declared that the referendum on Moldova’s accession to the European Union had been tainted by foreign interference in order to swing the vote to “no”. It almost worked. The “yes” to the inclusion of the European objective in the Constitution won with only 50.3% of the votes. Moldova already began its accession procedures last June.
Just
If Maia Sandu is re-elected in November, Chișinău will officially and inexorably move closer to the West, despite, according to the country’s authorities, “attacks involving tens of millions of euros, lies and propaganda”. This is a question of maneuvers by the Kremlin and its supporters in Moldova. Searches for, and arrests of people accused of disrupting the vote have also been carried out by the police since the beginning of the year.
Pro-Russian separatist zone
In particula, there are suspicions of corruption with the underhand payment of an envelope of €50 to €100 to vote “no”. This money is said to have come from Russia, but also from the oligarch Ilan Shor, who has taken refuge in Moscow. Despite a large turnout in the polling stations set up in Moscow for Moldovan citizens in Russia, it’s the other diaspora that is said to have swung the vote. Moldova is a small landlocked country bordering Romania, a member of the EU and NATO, and Ukraine. In addition, an eastern part of its territory, Transnistria, which is pro-independence, is currently occupied by Russian troops!
Presidential stakes
On November 3, the future of the country will be decided once again with the second round of the presidential elections. Organized at the same time as the referendum, the first round on October 20, 2024 brought the current pro-European head of state Maia Sandu to the lead (42% of the vote) ahead of the pro-Russian candidate Alexandr Stoianoglo (26%). The winner of the final confrontation will become president and will guide the alliance choices of Moldova and its 3 million inhabitants.
