CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) – Moldovans living abroad voted in record numbers in a presidential election that secured a victory for Western President Maia Sandu, in a key race that pitted her against a pro-Russian opponent amid ongoing claims of Russian meddling, voter. fraud, and intimidation.
Sandu’s success, with the promise of a campaign to promote Moldova to the European Union, was a great help to the pro-Western government, which strongly supported his election.
However, his opponents say his victory depends heavily on Moldovans living outside the country – which has about 2.5 million people, excluding foreigners – being considered legitimate.
With 100% of votes counted in the second round of Sunday’s presidential election, Sandu received 55.33% of the vote, according to the Central Election Commission, compared to 44.67% for Alexandr Stoianoglo, who was supported by the pro-Russian Party of Socialists.
A record number of 327,000 voters voted abroad during the voting period, with over 82% of them in favor of Sandu. But within Moldova, Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor general, received 51.3% of the vote, compared to Sandu’s 48.67%.
Although the former Soviet republic signed an agreement with the EU in 2014 to create closer political and economic ties, years of rampant corruption and a lack of reforms have hampered development, and the migration of hundreds of thousands of citizens in search of a better future abroad.
Former president Igor Dodon, leader of the pro-Moscow Party of Socialists, was quick to cast doubt on Sandu’s election victory by telling the Russian news agency, TASS, that he had become a “diaspora president” and suggested that this undermined the vote, noting that Stoianoglo “won the election.” of the president within the country.”
Dodon’s party posted on social media on Monday that it did not see results, calling Sandu “an illegitimate president, known only to his sponsors and supporters abroad” and saying that Moldovans “feel sold and robbed.”
Cristian Cantir, a Moldovan professor of international relations at Oakland University, told AP that the reaction of pro-Moscow politicians “should have been expected” since they “criticized the diaspora vote in the past, especially the votes of Moldovans” living in Western countries.
“This message about illegality and the diaspora will be used to amplify one of the Kremlin’s talking points,” he said, “that EU politicians are not popular in Moldova, and that they only stay in power with the support of the EU. They are scattered in the West, and in the West.”
The dissolution of Moldova also played an important role in the national referendum on Oct. 20, where a small majority of 50.35% voted to defend Moldova’s path towards EU membership. Like Georgia and neighboring Ukraine, Moldova aspires to join the EU but is caught in an ongoing tug-of-war between Moscow and the West.
In his victory statement early Monday, Sandu told voters to “give a lesson in democracy, which deserves to be written in the history books” and noted the important role played by the diaspora in his re-election.
“Our disintegration has given us another lesson today, which we should all learn from,” said Sandu, a former World Bank executive. “Moldovans abroad have once again shown that Moldova beats strongly in their hearts as it does at home.”
He also said the vote was shrouded in “unprecedented attacks” with suspected schemes involving money laundering, vote-buying, and election interference by “hostile forces from outside the country” and criminal groups.
The results of both October’s vote and Sunday’s rerun have been marred by allegations of a massive vote-buying scheme, Russian interference, and voter intimidation – exposing Moldova’s judiciary as unable to adequately protect the democratic process.
After two October votes, Moldovan law enforcement said the 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 say $39 million in cash was paid to more than 130,000 recipients through a Russian bank authorized worldwide by voters between September and October. Anti-corruption authorities have carried out hundreds of searches and seized more than $2.7 million (2.5 million euros) as they try to dismantle it.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, congratulated Sandu for winning “despite unprecedented interference by Russia, including vote-buying schemes and disinformation,” which he said “seeks to undermine the country’s democratic institutions and its approach to the EU.”
“I hope the government will understand the results, especially those obtained on Moldovan soil that were not good for them, in the referendum and the presidential election,” student Artur, 20, who did not give his last name, said in Chisinau on Monday, referring to Stoianoglo’s more than 50% support among Moldovan voters. “Maybe they will change things for the well-being of Moldova.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moldova applied to join the EU. It was given the chancellor position in June of that year, and in the summer of 2024, Brussels agreed to begin membership negotiations. The sharp turn to the west angered Moscow and seriously damaged relations with Chisinau.
A pro-Western government led by the Party of Action and Solidarity has been in power in Moldova since 2021, and parliamentary elections will be held in 2025. Moldovan observers warn that next year’s vote could be Moscow’s focus.
Mihai Mogaldea, deputy director at the Chisinau-based Institute for European Policies and Reforms think tank, told AP on Monday that the EU should focus on extending more money to Moldova to “produce an immediate effect on people’s lives.”
“We have to understand that we have only won the war,” he said, “and the war will continue until the end of the parliamentary elections – and in fact that is where everything is bet in Russia.”
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McGrath reported from Bucharest, Romania. Associated Press reporter Vadim Ghirda in Chisinau, Moldova, contributed to this report.
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