EU course: Pro-Western President Sandu wins in Moldova

In the runoff election for the presidency in the Republic of Moldova, the pro-Western head of state Maia Sandu won after almost all votes were counted. The 52-year-old received 54.64 percent of the votes, as the election management in the capital Chisinau announced after counting over 98 percent of the ballot papers. Sandu’s challenger, the former Attorney General Alexandr Stoianoglo, who also wanted cooperation with Russia, was defeated with 45.36 percent of the vote.

Sandu won primarily thanks to the votes of hundreds of thousands of Moldovans living abroad – especially in the EU – who traditionally support the politician. The head of state from the Action and Solidarity party (PAS) wants to implement reforms in her second term in office in the completely impoverished agricultural country, which is a candidate for EU membership. The upcoming parliamentary elections in the summer are seen as the next political challenge. Because Sandu can only tackle the changes if she defends the current majority in the popular assembly.

Voter turnout was higher than in the first round on October 20th, at over 54 percent. The leadership in Moldova accused Russia of massive interference on election day. The Kremlin rejected similar allegations in the first round of voting and demanded evidence.

Stoianoglo calls on supporters to calm down

Sandu received the most votes (42.45 percent) among the eleven candidates in the first round. Stoianoglo, who ran for the Socialist Party of pro-Moscow ex-President Igor Dodon, got 25.98 percent.

The 57-year-old, who received the majority in the country with 51.19 percent of the vote, also addressed his compatriots in Chisinau in Russian and asked everyone to remain calm. “Moldova needs stability, not artificial conflict,” he said. The time of hatred and division in the country must end. In his home region of Gagauzia, an autonomous region, he even achieved 97.04 percent.

Although Sandu was considered the favorite, she 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. 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. He warned on Platform X about the danger of a distorted result. 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.

Incumbent Sandu’s confidant also published reports about organized transport from Russia on buses and charter flights that flew voters to the Azerbaijani capital Baku, the Turkish metropolis Istanbul and 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.