Presidential election: Moldova election ended: Chisinau accuses Moscow of interference

The Republic of Moldova, torn between the EU and Russia, has held the runoff election for the presidency. The polling stations in the country, which lies between EU member Romania and Ukraine, closed in the evening at 9 p.m. local time (8 p.m. CET). Voter turnout was higher than in the first round on October 20th. The counting of votes began after allegations of election interference against Russia emerged during the day. The first results are expected later this evening. There are no post-election surveys or forecasts.

The pro-Western head of state Maia Sandu from the Action and Solidarity party (PAS) received the most votes (42.45 percent) among the eleven candidates in the first round of voting. Her challenger is the former Attorney General Alexandr Stoianoglo, who supports economic relations with Russia in addition to EU integration. The 57-year-old ran for the Socialist Party of Moscow-friendly former President Igor Dodon.

The 52-year-old Sandu was considered the favorite, but was also criticized for a lack of economic and social progress. Critics accuse her opponent Stoianoglo of being a puppet of corrupt oligarchs and a candidate for Moscow. The outcome of the election is considered open. Like Ukraine, the country is a candidate for EU membership, which is why the West is also watching the results closely.

Chisinau: Illegal transport of voters

Sandu’s national security adviser Stanislav Secrieru accused Russia of massive election interference. This poses a great risk of distorting the result, he said on the X platform. The authorities were alerted. In the Transnistria region, which has broken away from Moldova and where Russian troops are stationed, there are organized transports of voters to the polls; that was illegal, he said.

The confidant of incumbent Sandu, who wants to push through further reforms on the way to the EU if she wins, also published reports about organized transport from Russia by buses and charter flights that took voters to the Azerbaijani capital Baku, the Turkish metropolis Istanbul and flew to the Belarusian capital Minsk.

Secrieru also published a video circulating on social networks showing people allegedly holding up their Moldovan passports on a plane on the way to Minsk. There had previously been complaints that only two polling stations in Moscow were open for Moldovans living in Russia to cast their votes. The flight was clear evidence of widespread organized voter transport, Secrieru said.

Violations of electoral law had already been complained about in advance

Security authorities in the capital Chisinau uncovered disinformation and vote-buying by pro-Russian forces in advance. Several Russian-language television channels and internet platforms were blocked in the country. On election day itself, people in the capital Chisinau reported in conversations with reporters from the German Press Agency that they had received calls last week asking them to vote for Stoianoglo. Some also said that they had been offered money in return.

Sandu also spoke of buying voters after the first round of elections. Two weeks ago, she also scheduled a parallel referendum on anchoring the EU course in the country’s constitution. The supporters prevailed by a razor-thin margin, and the Constitutional Court confirmed the validity of the result. Russia, on the other hand, wants to keep the agricultural country, which is in demand for its agricultural products such as apples, plums, grapes and nuts, within its sphere of influence.

Moldova has around 2.5 million inhabitants. Hundreds of thousands of Moldovans who live abroad – mainly in the EU – and in the breakaway Transnistria region controlled by Russia were also called to vote.