Moldova leader decries vote meddling after slim majority backs joining the E.U.
A slim majority of 50.39% voted “yes” in Moldova’s crunch referendum on European Union accession, preliminary results showed, after President Maia Sandu said that Sunday’s twin votes had been marred by “unprecedented” outside interference.
A slim majority of 50.39% voted “yes” in Moldova’s crunch referendum on European Union accession, preliminary results showed, after President Maia Sandu said that Sunday’s twin votes had been marred by “unprecedented” outside interference.
The knife-edge finish — with fewer than 1% of ballots still to be counted — is far from a resounding endorsement of the pro-EU path that Sandu has pursued over four years at the helm of the small ex-Soviet republic tugged between Russia and the West.Sandu took 42% of the vote at a presidential election that was held simultaneously, while her main rival, former prosecutor-general Alexandr Stoianoglo, won 26%, a stronger result than polls had predicted.
The result sets the scene for a tightly fought run-off between the two on Nov. 3. Stoianoglo has said that, if elected, he would build a “balanced” foreign policy involving ties with the EU, the United States, Russia and China.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu arrives for a news conference at her campaign headquarters in Chisinau on Monday.Daniel Mihailescu / AFP via Getty ImagesSunday’s twin votes, which took place after persistent allegations of election meddling, were seen as a test of the southeast European nation’s aspirations to join the EU by 2030 and escape Moscow’s orbit for good.
Moldova’s future has been in the spotlight since Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine to the east. Russia maintains a small contingent of troops stationed as peacekeepers on Moldova’s breakaway region of Transdniestria.
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