Sandu Leads Moldova Vote Amid Alleged Russian Meddling as EU Referendum Hangs

Oct 20, 2024, 07:34 PM

On October 20, 2024, Moldova held a presidential election and a referendum on amending the constitution to enshrine the country's path toward European Union membership. Incumbent President Maia Sandu led the presidential race with 35.56% of the votes, while her main competitor, Alexandr Stoianoglo, secured 29.1%. As no candidate received over 50% of the votes, a runoff election is scheduled for November 3 between Sandu and Stoianoglo. The referendum results were extremely close, with initial counts showing 52.93% against and 47.07% in favor of EU integration after processing 92.88% of ballots. However, diaspora votes appeared to shift the balance, and with 97.66% of votes counted, the "Yes" side narrowly took the lead. Voter turnout was reported at 51.4% of registered voters. The election and referendum were marked by allegations of Russian interference, with Moldovan police stating that Russian networks attempted to bribe more than 130,000 Moldovans. President Sandu condemned what she described as an "unprecedented assault on our country's freedom and democracy" by "foreign forces" and "criminal groups," alleging that they aimed to buy 300,000 votes. Opposition figure Ilan Shor called the results a "defeat of Sandu," asserting that Moldovans rejected EU integration. Despite the challenges, Sandu expressed hope that the democratic process would prevail.