The main battle on the web and in the media
The referendum and the first round of the presidential election proved that Moldovan society is divided into two similar parts. Therefore, before the decisive round of the presidential elections, Sandu and Stojanoglu have tried to address both those voters who voted for other candidates in the first round of elections, as well as those who did not to vote two weeks ago.
On the streets of Chisinau, you can’t really see the pre-election campaign – yes, the posters of both candidates are pasted in some places, on Friday morning, Latvian Radio also saw Sandu’s campaign tent on one of the main streets ‘ town, but nothing else indicates that Moldovans will have to make a very important election in a few days.
The pre-selection campaign period ends at midnight on Friday, so the candidates’ posters will not be visible anywhere on Saturday.
The main pre-election battle takes place in the media and social networking sites. The only televised pre-election debate between Sanda and Stojanoglu took place last Sunday, but it was said to be more like a stage show, as the candidates were not questioned by journalists, but answered each other’s questions , most likely, was previously submitted.
Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television Photo: Ārts Zvirbulis, Latvian Television
There was supposed to be another televised debate afterwards, but Stojanoglu refused to participate in it, so Sandu only answered questions from a few journalists.
The candidates’ pre-election messages are very different.
Sandu emphasizes that, under her leadership, Moldova will continue its course towards the European Union, and will also do everything possible to help neighboring Ukraine help in the war against Russia. The president has also admitted that the justice reforms she promised have not progressed fast enough so far. She has also indicated that she is prepared to ask for changes from the government if she wins the election.
On the other hand, Stojanoglo spent many critical words on Sanda, accusing her that the economy of Moldova is not developing, that is why the construction of the country has stopped almost completely, while 300 thousand citizens had left the country during her four years. management On the other hand, Stojanoglu’s foreign policy position is that dialogue should be maintained with all countries.
The past debates between the two presidential candidates left many disappointed.
Sandu and Stojanoglu could not agree on a journalist to lead the debate, or on media that would be acceptable to both sides. So, in the end, the debate was held in neutral territory – the National Palace – and without a moderator. The candidates questioned each other, each was given 2 minutes to answer and after the time limit, the speaker’s microphone was automatically switched off. According to experts, Sandu looked more confident in this debate than Stojanoglu, who also knows the Romanian language well. The debate was held mainly in Moldova’s official language – Romanian – but also in Russian. Both sides then announced that they were the winners of the debate, but experts are skeptical about what happened.
Sociologist, publicist Vitaly Sprinčana Photo: Maris Just
“In my opinion, the debate failed in the sense that none of the candidates succeeded in convincing voters outside their ‘bubble’ of supporters. They did not put out but their supporters who were already on their side.Also, it was organized in a very strange way.
They did not expose the candidates from an unknown angle, they did not put any candidate in an uncomfortable position to make him unprepared or reveal himself. So, each side saw what they wanted to see,” said sociologist and journalist Vitaly Sprinčana.
Distributing invitations to vote with the promise of payment
Friday, or the last day of campaigning before the presidential elections in Moldova on Sunday, was peaceful, Latvian Television reported. Election aspirations are mostly seen on social networks, not on the streets.
So on Friday afternoon, invitations to vote for the current president Maija Sanda were distributed on the Internet, promising to pay back. Several journalists have also received threatening text messages asking to be more favorable to the current president. Sandu’s team, however, calls these events incentives that aim to give the president similar methods that have been typical of her rivals until now.
Vote buying scandals continue in Moldova. The media “Ziarul de Gardă” has already published an investigation on vote buying before the first round of the presidential elections and the referendum, within the framework of which the journalist had brought the vote buying scheme. in. This was followed by an investigation and several vote buyers who arrested the journalist. Yesterday “ZdG” published another similar investigation by another journalist. This shows that vote buying continues and this time that people are getting clear orders to vote for Stojanoglu.
Director of “ZdG” Alina Radu Photo: Maris Just
“The main surprise was that the so-called ‘Shora network’ is still working, money is still coming from Moscow and people are still being paid and told who to vote for. A lot was done by the security authorities after our first release. As part of our research. Radu, director of the newspaper “ZdG”.
Stajanoglu’s team’s phone conversations with the Kremlin’s curators and the KGB were leaked on the Internet. They claim it is “deep-fake”.
Lists with the data of people who were allegedly paid to vote were published on the Internet. The truth of the list has not been officially confirmed, but those named in it have received criticism, criticism and even threats.
Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Rechan commented on the wave of anonymous threat calls on social media: “Tonight, Moldova is experiencing an unprecedented attack: people across the country are receiving anonymous phone death threats . Journalists, celebrities and ordinary citizens have received the threats. These acts of intimidation have one objective – to create panic and fear so that people would be afraid to go to the elections. This is what Rechan said, asking citizens to participate in the elections.
Sandu predicts victory
Regarding the prediction of the election result, it should be noted that a poll was published on Thursday in which 39% of respondents said they would vote for Sanda, while 32% said they would vote for Stojanoglu. But more than 24% of the respondents had not yet decided which candidate to vote for.
Including only undecided respondents and including those living abroad, the sociologists predicted that Sandu would get slightly more on 55% of the votes in the elections, and Stojanoglo – almost 45%.
Andrejs Kureraru, a political scientist interviewed by Latvian Radio also made a similar prediction: “It would be a safe prediction that Sandu would win by a small margin, similar to what happened in the referendum. This was also predicted by a study published yesterday, conducted by a sociological research company with links to pro-Russian media. he bribed 300 thousand voters, he can change everything.”
Photo: Uldis Ķezberis/Latvijas Radio
It should be remembered that after the referendum and the first round of presidential elections, Sandu announced that Moldova had made unprecedented efforts to influence the outcome of the vote, claiming that maybe 300,000 citizen received money from Russian-based oligarch Ilan Shor, who called to vote against the country’s membership in the European Union and not to vote for Sanda.
It seems that efforts to influence the outcome of the election have not decreased, because in the last few days new people have been arrested in connection with the buying of voters’ votes, allegedly put on way with people connected to Shor.
But Moldova’s Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced on Thursday that 40 employees of the Public Service Agency have been charged on suspicion of receiving money through Russian banks that could be used to bribe voters.
To force people to sell their vote, which is a crime in Moldova, police cars patrol the streets of Chisinau, playing the relevant messages. Also in Chisinau public transport, a text is displayed on the signboard warning of the consequences if people sell their vote.
On Thursday, the Moldovan authorities also announced the arrest of five people who were responsible for setting fire to the building of the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova and police cars. The saboteurs had come from the separatist region of Transnistria. One of the prisoners said they were recruited through the communication website “Telegram” and were promised 5,000 dollars (4,600 euros) to commit crimes.
2024-11-01 20:39:00
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