Pro-European President Sandu wins tight elections in Moldova

The current President Maia Sandu has won the elections in Moldova. Initially there was a neck and neck race between pro-European Sandu and pro-Russian Aleksandr Stoianoglo. But with 97 percent of the votes counted, Sandu’s lead was big enough to secure victory.

“Today you have given a lesson in democracy,” the president said in her victory speech. “Today you have saved Moldova.” The elections were overshadowed by accusations of obstruction and bribery.

Sandu received more than 54 percent of the votes in the second round of the presidential elections in the Eastern European country. Her rival from the Socialist party was still involved at more than 45 percent. The votes from abroad, which were counted later, were mainly for Sandu.

The sitting president is an open supporter of accession to the European Union. In the last few years, she has also been working on dealing with corruption and strengthening the rule of law in the country. In the first round, two weeks ago, Sandu received 42 percent of the votes, compared to 26 percent for Stoianoglo, a former attorney general. Since one of the two must have an absolute majority, a second round was necessary.

The election was marred by allegations of corruption and interference by Russia, with authorities accusing a refugee businessman of forcing people to vote for Stoianoglo.

According to President Sandu, the first round was involved in a major corruption campaign, in which criminal groups tried to buy 300,000 votes. According to her, the groups were working together with “foreign forces”.

National security adviser Sandu holds Russia responsible for “massive election hacking”. According to him, the Kremlin wanted to influence the outcome of the election by organizing transport in the independent region of Transnistria to bring voters to the polling stations.

There were also allegations of corruption before the second election, this time by election officials. Police and prosecutors have begun investigating an unknown number of them, the chief electoral officer said.

The presidential elections coincided with a referendum on joining the EU. A narrow majority voted to introduce one pro-European course in the Moldovan Constitution. The country wants to be a member of the union by 2030. There were also accusations of corruption and foreign interference about the referendum.

Georgia also held elections last week where voters had a choice between an anti-Russian and an anti-European party. The anti-Russian ruling party claimed victory, but President Zurabishvili, among others, does not recognize the result. According to her, the country has suffered from “specific Russian activity”.

“Moldova has no future without Russia,” said one of the voters: