MOLDOVANS voted by a razor-thin majority in favour of securing the country’s path toward European Union membership, electoral data showed today, following a ballot that nearly caused a major setback for the pro-Western president.
With 99.41 per cent of the 1.4 million votes counted in the EU referendum held on Sunday, the Yes vote stood at 50.39 per cent, to 49.61 per cent who voted No — according to the Central Electoral Commission.
The No vote had looked to be ahead until the last few thousand votes were counted from the country’s large diaspora.
A loss would have been a political disaster for the government, which strongly supported the pro-EU campaign.
“Criminal groups, working together with foreign forces hostile to our national interests, have attacked our country with tens of millions of euros, lies and propaganda, using the most disgraceful means to keep our citizens and our nation trapped in uncertainty and instability,” claimed President Maia Sandu after about 90 per cent of the votes were counted.
“We have clear evidence that these criminal groups aimed to buy 300,000 votes — a fraud of unprecedented scale,” Ms Sandu added.
“Their objective was to undermine a democratic process.”
The vote was held amid ongoing claims by Moldovan authorities that Moscow has intensified a “hybrid war” campaign to destabilise the country and derail its EU path.
The allegations include funding pro-Moscow opposition groups, spreading disinformation, meddling in local elections and backing a major vote-buying scheme.
In Brussels, the European Union’s executive branch, the European Commission, said that its services had also noted Russian interference in Moldova, and it underlined its continued support for Moldova on its EU accession path.
“This vote took place under unprecedented interference and intimidation by Russia and its proxies, aiming to destabilise the democratic processes in the Republic of Moldova,” spokesperson Peter Stano said.
Mr Stano told reporters that allegations of vote buying, the bussing of voters and disinformation are only the most recent forms of Russian interference, and that attempts to undermine Moldova and its support for the EU have been going on for months.
In the presidential race that was held at the same time, Ms Sandu won the first round with 42 per cent of the vote in a field of 11, but failed to win an outright majority.
She will face Alexandr Stoianoglo, a Russia-friendly former prosecutor general who outperformed polls with around 26 per cent of the vote, in a run-off on November 3.
