EU course
Pro-Western president wins in Moldova – EU relieved
Copy the current link
In Moldova, a country torn between Russia and the West, pro-Western President Sandu is confirmed in office – to the delight of EU politicians. But it won’t be easy for her.
After her victory in the presidential election in the Republic of Moldova, the pro-Western head of state Maia Sandu wants to continue to lead the country, which is under Russian influence, into the EU with reforms. “We need solidarity,” said the 52-year-old in the capital Chisinau, also in Russian, after her victory in the runoff election. Given the strong performance of her challenger Alexandr Stoianoglo, she declared that she wanted to be a president for everyone.
Sandu had won thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Moldovans abroad – especially in the EU. In the country itself, the former Prosecutor General Stoianoglo, who supports economic relations with Moscow, received the majority of votes.
Sandu from the pro-European Action and Solidarity party (PAS) received 55.35 percent of the vote, as the election management in Chisinau announced after all ballot papers had been counted. According to the provisional official final results, the 57-year-old Stoianoglo, who called on his supporters to remain calm, was defeated with 44.65 percent of the vote.
The neighboring country of EU member Romania, which is torn between the West and Russia, must overcome hatred and division, he warned. “Moldova needs stability and not artificial conflict.” Stoianoglo achieved a majority in the country with 51.19 percent of the vote. In his home region of Gagauzia, an autonomous region, he even achieved 97.04 percent. Opponents accuse Stoianoglo of being a puppet of corrupt oligarchs and a candidate for Moscow.
The impoverished agricultural country of Moldova has around 2.5 million inhabitants and, like neighboring Ukraine, is a candidate for EU membership. At over 54 percent, voter turnout was higher than in the first round on October 20th.
Congratulations from all over the world
Sandu received congratulations not only from neighboring countries Ukraine and Romania. The federal government, the EU, China and many other countries also congratulated her. There was no congratulations from Russia after the Kremlin sharply rejected allegations of election interference and demanded evidence.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced on Platform X that Sandu had steered the Republic of Moldova safely through difficult times and set her country’s European course. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) wrote on the platform: “The people of Moldova have decided: the majority of them want to resolutely continue on the path to the EU.”
Sandu was successful despite “unprecedented interference by Russia, including vote buying and disinformation campaigns,” said the EU Commission and foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. The EU will continue to accompany the country on its path. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Sandu’s assertiveness. “It takes a rare kind of strength to overcome the challenges,” von der Leyen wrote on X.
Sandu faces the next challenge: parliamentary elections
The upcoming parliamentary elections in the summer are seen as the next major political challenge. Because Sandu can only tackle the changes if she defends the current majority in the popular assembly.
Prominent Moldovan journalist and political scientist Vladimir Solovyov said, according to media in Chisinau, that Sandu would have a difficult time because she does not have a majority in the country itself. “The results of the second round are not a victory,” he said, referring to people’s great dissatisfaction with the economic and social situation. “Losing in the country and generally winning only thanks to the diaspora is not an alarm bell, but a wailing siren.”
The parliamentary election will be much tougher because Sandu also has to reach people in the countryside, said expert Brigitta Triebel from the CDU-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Chisinau to the German Press Agency. Judicial reform is important in order to make the country more resilient to external election influences. Overcoming the division between pro-Western forces in the capital and abroad and the regions of Gagauzia and Transnistria, which are under Russian influence, is a generational task.
The Socialist Party of pro-Russian ex-President Igor Dodon, for which Stoianoglo ran, did not recognize the result – like those of previous elections. Stoianoglo is the people’s president with the most votes in the country, said the socialists in the capital Chisinau. The party has traditionally been bothered by the fact that elections are always decided by Moldovans abroad. From the point of view of political observers, the decision will initially have no consequences. Stoianoglo himself acknowledged the result and called for calm.
Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) rated the election as predominantly positive. However, it showed how divided the country is.
Chisinau accuses Moscow of massive election interference
Like the first round, the runoff election was accompanied by allegations of manipulation. Sandu’s national security adviser Stanislav Secrieru accused Russia of massive election interference. 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.
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.
Security authorities in 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. Even on election day itself, people in Chisinau spoke to dpa reporters and reported that they had received calls last week asking them to vote for Stoianoglo. Some also said that they had been offered money in return.
After the first round of voting, Sandu also spoke of buying voters. 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 country, which is in demand for its agricultural products such as apples, plums, grapes and nuts, within its sphere of influence.
The Russian Foreign Ministry described the vote as the most undemocratic since the country’s independence more than 30 years ago. In Moscow, only two polling stations have been approved by Moldovan authorities – for an estimated 500,000 of the country’s citizens, while 200 polling stations have been set up for the same number in Western Europe and the USA, it said.
dpa
Source: Stern

I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.