Expatriate votes abroad are making up for the domestic vote, and Moldova’s anti-EU president has been successfully re-elected

(AFP Chisinau, 3rd) Incumbent European Union president Maia Sandu won a tight presidential election today, defeating her opponent backed by an anti-Russian party. Sandhu said it was a “lesson in democracy”.

Moldova, a former Soviet republic, is halfway between Ukraine and the European Union in an election marred by allegations of Russian interference.

Two weeks ago, a referendum in Moldova almost ended its support for the European Union.

According to the almost finished results announced by the Electoral Commission, Sandu won 54.94% of the vote, and Alexandr Stoianoglo, with the support of the anti-Russian Socialist Party, received 45.06% of the vote. Sandu removed Stoianoglo as prosecutor general last year.

The election results published so far show that Sandu won only 48.8% of the domestic vote, actually losing to Stoianoglo’s 51.2%, but Sandu is expected to receive the support of more than 80% of voters. -foreign migration.

“Fellow Moldovans, today you taught a democratic lesson that deserves to be included in history textbooks… There will be freedom, truth and justice,” Sandu said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Sandu on his re-election and Moldova’s “European future”, saying that “a rare force is needed to overcome the challenges that they face in this election”.

French President Emmanuel Macron also said that democracy “defies all restrictions and gimmicks. “

The ruling party in Georgia, another Soviet republic, won a disputed parliamentary election last weekend and Russia has been accused of trying to influence voters, although Moscow is disaffected. deny these allegations.

Moldovan authorities announced today “attempts to attack, incite and destabilize”.

The police said they are investigating “organized transport” of people living in Russia to Belarus, Azerbaijan and Turkey so they could vote at Moldovan diplomatic missions in those countries.

Authorities said overseas voting campaigns were also targeted by cyber attacks and fake bomb threats.

After Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sandu applied to join the EU, and EU accession talks officially began in June this year.

In the referendum on October 20 of this year, only 50.35% of voters supported joining the EU, a result that Sandu blamed on “foreign interference.” Police said they discovered a Russian vote-buying scheme that may have affected up to a quarter of the votes cast.