Moldova narrowly votes to secure path to EU membership after accusing Russia of interference

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Moldovans voted by a razor-thin majority to secure the country's path to European Union membership, election data showed Monday, after the pro-Western president accused foreign interference and “criminal groups.” had to undermine the vote in the former Soviet republic.

The “no” vote appeared to be ahead until the last few thousand votes were counted from Moldova’s large diaspora, whose authorities accused Russia of trying to destabilize the country.

When 99.41% of the EU referendums held on Sunday were counted, the “yes” vote was 50.39% and the “no” vote was 49.61%, according to the Central Election Commission.

A loss would have been a political disaster for the pro-Western government, which strongly supported the pro-EU campaign.

On Monday, President Maia Sandu reiterated claims that unprecedented electoral fraud and foreign interference had undermined the elections, calling it a “heinous attack” on Moldova's sovereignty.

“Unfortunately, the justice system has not done enough to prevent election fraud and corruption,” she said at a news conference. “Again, we need to draw a line in the sand, correct what went wrong and learn the lesson from it. “We heard you: we know we need to do more to fight corruption.”

Moldovan authorities claim Moscow has stepped up a “hybrid war” campaign to destabilize the country and derail its path to the EU. The allegations include funding pro-Moscow opposition groups, spreading disinformation, Interference in local elections and supporting a major vote-buying program.

Russia has repeatedly denied that it is interfering in Moldova.

Moldova applied to join the EU on February 24, 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine and was granted candidate status alongside Ukraine in the summer. Brussels agreed in June Start of accession negotiations.

In Brussels, the EU executive, the European Commission, said its services had detected “unprecedented interference and intimidation by Russia and its proxies with the aim of destabilizing democratic processes” in Moldova, and it underlined that it continued to support Moldova in its EU -Join Support Way.

Spokesman Peter Stano told reporters that allegations of vote buying, voter busing and disinformation were just the latest forms of Russian interference and that attempts had been made for months to undermine Moldova and its support for the EU.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the people of Moldova: “You did it again!” In the face of Russia’s hybrid tactics, Moldova is showing that it is independent, strong and wants a European future!”

In the presidential election campaign that was taking place at the same time, Sandu won the first round with 42% of the vote out of eleven votes, just short of an absolute majority. She will face Alexandr Stoianoglo, a pro-Russia former prosecutor general who topped polls with about 26% of the vote, in a Nov. 3 runoff.

When polling stations closed at 9 p.m. on Sunday, more than 1.5 million voters – about 51% of those eligible to vote – had cast their ballots, according to the Central Election Commission. Moldova has around 2.5 million inhabitants.

Cristian Cantir, a Moldovan associate professor of international relations at Oakland University, told The Associated Press that previous polls may have “overestimated the pro-EU sentiment” in Moldova and the referendum failed to pass without votes from outside the country were.

“It will be particularly problematic because … it will feed into narratives spread by the Kremlin and pro-Russian forces,” he said.

U.S. national security spokesman John Kirby echoed concerns about Russian interference, saying in a statement: “Russia is actively working to undermine Moldova's elections and its European integration.”

In early October, Moldovan law enforcement authorities said they had uncovered a massive vote-buying scheme orchestrated by Ilan Shor exiled pro-Russian oligarch who currently lives in Russia, which paid 15 million euros ($16.2 million) to 130,000 people to undermine the two elections.

Shor was convicted in absentia last year He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud and money laundering in the case of $1 billion that disappeared from banks in Moldova in 2014. He denied the allegations, saying the payments were legal and citing the right to freedom of expression. Shor's populist, Russia-friendly Shor Party was declared unconstitutional and banned last year.

On Thursday, Moldovan authorities foiled another plot in which more than 100 young Moldovans in Moscow were trained by private military groups on how to incite civil unrest related to the two votes. Some also attended advanced training in “guerrilla camps” in Serbia and Bosnia, according to police, and four people were held for 30 days.

A pro-Western government has been in power in Moldova since 2021, a year after Sandu won the presidency. Parliamentary elections will take place next year.

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Associated Press writer Raf Casert in Brussels contributed.