NEWS WIRES
Sun 3 November 2024
Moldova's incumbent President and presidential candidate (C) celebrates with staff and supporters following preliminary results of the second round of the presidential election, in Chisinau November 3, 2024.
Moldova's pro-Western President Maia Sandu has secured a second term, defeating a Russia-aligned rival amid allegations of Russian interference, voter fraud, and intimidation. The win bolsters the pro-Western government’s EU integration agenda.
Moldova's pro-EU incumbent Maia Sandu on Sunday won a tense presidential runoff, beating her rival backed by a pro-Russian party in what she described as a "lesson in democracy".
The election in the ex-Soviet republic that lies sandwiched between war-torn Ukraine and the European Union has been overshadowed by allegations of meddling by Moscow.
The key vote took place just two weeks after a referendum backed joining the EU by a razor-thin margin.
Sandu stood at 54.94 percent of the vote against 45.06 percent for Alexandr Stoianoglo, who is supported by the pro-Russian Socialists and whom Sandu fired as prosecutor general last year, according to near-complete results published by the election commission.
"Today, dear Moldovans, you have given a lesson in democracy, worthy of being written in history books.... Freedom, truth, and justice have prevailed," Sandu declared.
'Honest vote'
Earlier, the 52-year-old former World Bank economist thanked jubilant supporters for "their honest vote".
Her rival Stoianoglo, 57, urged people "to remain calm, regardless of the figures".
Moldovan authorities reported "attacks, provocations and attempts at destabilisation" on Sunday.
Pro-EU incumbent Maia Sandu re-elected to second term as president of Moldova
Euronews
Sun 3 November 2024
Pro-EU incumbent Maia Sandu re-elected to second term as president of Moldova
Moldova's pro-Western incumbent president Maia Sandu has won a second term in a pivotal presidential runoff against a Russia-friendly opponent, in a race overshadowed by claims of Russian interference, voter fraud and intimidation.
With almost 99% of votes counted in the second round, Sandu had 55.03% of the vote, according to the Central Electoral Commission.
Her competitor, the former prosecutor general Alexandr Stoianoglo, was polling at just under 45%.
Speaking at the headquarters of her Action and Solidarity party in the capital Chișinău, Sandu struck a conciliatory tone and said she had listened to those who had voted both for and against her, adding that her priority in the coming years would be to be a president for all Moldovans.
But she went on to claim that her country's vote had faced an "unprecedented attack" through alleged schemes including dirty money, vote-buying and electoral interference "by hostile forces from outside the country."
"You have shown that nothing can stand in the way of the people's power when they choose to speak through their vote," she said.
When polls closed locally at 9pm local time, turnout stood at more than 1.68 million people, around 54% of eligible voters, according to the Central Election Commission.
Moldova's large diaspora, which cast ballots in record numbers of more than 325,000, voted heavily in favour of Sandu.
In the first round, which was held on 20 October, Sandu took 42% of the vote but failed to win an outright majority over second place Stoianoglo.
Moldova's presidential role carries significant powers in areas such as foreign policy and national security and has a four-year term.
Allegations of interference
On Sunday, Moldovan police said they had "reasonable evidence" of organised transportation of voters, illegal under the country's electoral code, to polling stations from within the country and from overseas and are "investigating and registering evidence in connection with air transport activities from Russia to Belarus, Azerbaijan and Turkey."
"Such measures are taken to protect the integrity of the electoral process and to ensure that every citizen’s vote is cast freely without undue pressure or influence," police said.
Moldova's foreign ministry said on Sunday afternoon that polling stations in Frankfurt, Germany, and Liverpool and Northampton in the UK had been targeted by false bomb threats, which "intended only to stop the voting process."
Maia Sandu's main competitor was former prosecutor general, Alexandr Stoianoglo, 3 November, 2024 - Vadim Ghirda/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.
Stanislav Secrieru, the president's national security adviser, wrote on X: "We are seeing massive interference by Russia in our electoral process,” which he warned had a “high potential to distort the outcome" of the vote.
Secrieru later added that the national voter record systems were being targeted by "ongoing coordinated cyberattacks" to disrupt links between domestic polling stations and those abroad, and that cybersecurity teams were "working to counter these threats and ensure system continuity."
Moldova's Prime Minister Dorin Recean said that people throughout the country had received “anonymous death threats via phone calls” in what he called "an extreme attack" to scare voters in the former Soviet republic, which has a population of about 2.5 million people.
Vote-buying scheme
Moldovans voted twice on 20 October; first for the president and second in a referendum on whether to enshrine the aim of EU membership in the country’s constitution.
That passed with a razor-thin majority of 50.35%, given a boost in the final hours of ballot counting by overseas voters.
In the wake of those October votes, Moldovan law enforcement said that a vote-buying scheme was orchestrated by Ilan Shor, an exiled oligarch who lives in Russia and was convicted in absentia last year of fraud and money laundering.
Shor denies any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors allege that $39 million (€35 million) was paid to more than 130,000 recipients through an internationally sanctioned Russian bank to voters between September and October.
Anti-corruption authorities have conducted hundreds of searches and seized over $2.7 million (€2.5 million) in cash as they attempt to crack down.
In one case in Gagauzia, an autonomous part of Moldova where only 5% voted in favour of joining the EU, a physician was detained after allegedly coercing 25 residents of a home for older adults to vote for a candidate they did not choose.
Police said they obtained "conclusive evidence", including financial transfers from the same Russian bank.
Moldova's EU future
A pro-Western government has been in power in Moldova since 2021 and parliamentary elections are set to take place next year.
Moldova watchers warn that the 2025 vote could be Moscow's main target.
A man casts his ballot at a polling station in the capital Chișinău, 3 November, 2024 - Vadim Ghirda/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.
In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moldova applied to join the EU. It was granted candidate status in June of that year, and in summer 2024, Brussels agreed to start membership negotiations.
The sharp westward shift irked Moscow and significantly soured relations with Chișinău.
Since then, Moldovan authorities have repeatedly accused Russia of waging a vast "hybrid war", from sprawling disinformation campaigns to protests by pro-Russia parties to vote-buying schemes that undermine countrywide elections.
Russia has denied any meddling.
Andra Timu, Lina Grau and Irina Vilcu
Sat 2 November 2024
(Bloomberg) -- The several hundred people gathered inside a hall in the Moldovan village of Pirlita wore winter clothes to keep out the chill. Heating is a luxury the local mayor can’t afford, even when the president visits.
The scene was a sharp reminder of the economic backdrop for Maia Sandu, the country’s leader the past four years, as she seeks re-election in a runoff vote on Sunday that has geopolitical implications beyond the tiny nation.
Moldova is one of the poorest places in Europe, sandwiched between the relative riches of Romania and war-torn Ukraine. Sandu is determined to persuade her country the path toward European Union integration is the right one, but it’s also one Russia is keen to derail. A referendum two weeks ago on future membership unexpectedly saw Moldova split down the middle.
Sandu, 52, faces Alexandr Stoianoglo, 57, a former general prosecutor who favors closer ties with Moscow, with everything to play for. Sandu secured 42% of the vote in the first round held the same day as the EU referendum versus 26% for her opponent. The gap is expected to have significantly narrowed as Stoianoglo picks up ballots from other pro-Russian candidates.
While Sandu has enjoyed the support of EU leaders passing through the country in recent months, her opponent has benefited from what Western governments have called a disinformation campaign led by pro-Russian politicians. Moldovan authorities also accused Russia of bribing voters, which Moscow denies.
The vote comes a week after Georgia, another former Soviet state with ambitions for Western integration, backed a Kremlin-friendly leader in an election disputed by international observers and some European leaders. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Moldova could be next.
“The fact that the referendum passed is essential for Moldova’s future, but looking at what happened in Georgia we’re in a totally different paradigm,” said Iulian Chifu, chairman of the Bucharest-based Center for Conflict Prevention and Early Warning. “Maia Sandu seems to have understood that and took some good steps, but she still needs to secure more votes.”
Sandu is counting on the villages where she placed second and third in the first round of voting. In the cold hall in Pirlita, she was mobbed by people with bouquets of yellow chrysanthemums, a ubiquitous flower in autumn and the color of her Action and Solidarity Party.
Also hailing from a village, Sandu pointed to the importance of European money in building new roads, schools and sewage systems. If a pro-Russian candidate wins the presidency, she said, this support will stop.
She told the elderly audience that for young people to return to the country — one of the most quickly depopulating in the world — Moldova needs to grow its economy and that’s only possible with the support of the West. She acknowledged mistakes, asking them to give her more time to push through much-needed reforms, especially in the judiciary.
“I know that we have many problems, but we should not set fire to the country because we got angry,” said Sandu.
But the scale of her challenge was also evident. Many locals say they still don’t feel the positive impacts of European funds. They’re concerned about rising prices, scarce jobs and basics like a lack of drinking water. The pro-Russia message is that the EU is to blame.
Some villagers asked whether Christian Orthodox church celebrations would be banned if Moldova joins the EU. They said they read on social media platform Telegram that the EU will take away their land, bring war, and even forbid keeping chickens in backyards. They applauded when Sandu reassured them.
(Sign up to our Eastern Europe Edition newsletter, delivered every Friday.)
One younger man in the audience, Anatol, said he was waiting for the result of the election to decide whether or not to stay in Moldova. He said incomes are low and prices are high and the country needs the prospect of EU integration or there’s no point in staying.
“We don’t want us young people to have to leave,” he said. “But for that, you in government should have done more, and those who contributed to corrupting the votes should go on trial.”
Sandu’s struggle was most apparent during a debate with her opponent on Oct. 27. While she stressed her stance against Russia, Stoianoglo advocated “good ties with all partners — the EU, the US, Russia and China” and stopped short of condemning Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine.
While Sandu branded him as Moscow’s “Trojan horse,” Stoianoglo has struck a more cautious tone than previous pro-Russian politicians in Moldova. He said he wasn’t against EU integration but dismissed the referendum as a move by Sandu to boost her support. He accused her of incompetence, mismanaging the economy and leading the country into deeper divides.
QuickTake: Why Russia and the West Are Sparring Over Moldova
How Sandu arrived at this critical juncture goes back a decade to when she was serving as Moldova’s minister of education. A Harvard-educated economist, Sandu had left the World Bank in Washington to take up the role.
Her reforms merging small schools in depopulating villages were so unpopular that colleagues openly betted on how long she would last, she said. But another event that put Moldova on the map turned out to be more of a defining moment.
In 2014, $1 billion was siphoned out of three state-owned banks, costing Moldova the equivalent of 12% of its gross domestic product. The crisis turned her into a prominent pro-European figure opposed to the oligarchs that controlled swathes of the economy.
Two years later, she narrowly lost to pro-Russian President Igor Dodon, whose campaign derided her as an unmarried woman, before beating him in 2020 by promising to tackle corruption. Stoianoglo is the candidate backed by Dodon’s party this time around.
Sandu’s four years in power have been turbulent as Russia’s war next door in Ukraine escalated the tension within Moldova while whacking the already fragile economy. Gross domestic product per capita is still less than half that of Bulgaria, the EU’s poorest member.
If she retains power, it will be a prelude to another fight between pro-Western and pro-Russian political forces next year when the country holds parliamentary elections. The Russia-based Pravda newspaper called the presidential vote simply a “rehearsal for the main political battle.”
Yet Sandu is popular among Moldova’s large diaspora, which bolstered her support in the first round and ensured the EU referendum on enshrining membership in the constitution ended up passing by a whisker, 50.4%. Those people may again swing the vote on Sunday.
Winning over voters at home remains the key challenge, especially given their disillusionment with the country’s future and their susceptibility to disinformation. Polls had shown support for the EU at 60% before the vote.
One story Sandu uses is how her mother confronted two women on a trolleybus in the capital, Chisinau, who claimed the president had sent her to the US.
“The stakes are much higher now because the first round of the presidential elections and the referendum showed that fighting Russian disinformation isn’t easy,” said Chifu, who expects her to win. “If before, everyone was expecting a landslide victory from her part and to crush any opponent, now we’ll probably see a much tighter result.”
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
