The former Soviet Republic of Moldova voted by a narrow majority to include the European Union’s subject in the constitution, with almost all votes counted in a referendum on allegations of voter manipulation.
The referendum is being watched closely in Brussels, but hope has been dashed by a strong majority in favor of the EU, which pledged €1.8 billion ($1.9 billion) in economic aid to Moldova this month.
Moldova, located between Ukraine and Romania, is a member of the EU but has traditionally been divided between the West and Russia.
With almost all votes counted, the electoral commission said on Monday that 50.45% of participants voted for a constitutional amendment to include closer EU relations as a strategic goal. About 49.55% were against it, which shows the strength of the pro-Russia camp.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, congratulated the President of Moldova and Maia Sandu of Moldova on the vote despite allegations of Russian interference in the election.
“In confronting Russia’s hybrid tactics, Moldova shows that it is independent, strong and wants a European future!” von der Leyen said in X.
Sandu was complaining about fraud in the election last night, and left it open whether he will see the result.
The referendum took place “under unprecedented disruption,” a European Commission spokesman said.
Election interference by Russia “to undermine democratic processes in the Republic of Moldova” has been observed for a long time, the spokesman said.
Alleged vote-buying in Moldova, “voter manipulation” and massive propaganda campaigns by Russia and its proxies in the country are some of the latest examples, he said.
German deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said in Berlin: “We see that Russia and pro-Russian actors are trying to discredit Moldova on a large scale.”
Moldova also held presidential elections on Sunday which were won by the incumbent, although Sandu – the founder of the Pro-Western Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) – failed to secure an absolute majority. He received 42.3% of the vote, compared to 26% for his main rival Alexandru Stoianoglo, the pro-Russia former attorney general.
Sandu and Stoianoglo will contest the second election on November 3.
On Monday, Sandu appealed to voters to give him their vote in this election.
He also noted that the Moldovan diaspora had an important influence on the EU policy opinion.
Moldovan media reported that many regions of the country voted against the EU course in Sunday’s referendum, but hundreds of thousands of Moldovans living abroad tipped the balance in favor of the proposal. The country has about 2.5 million inhabitants.