Moldova began voting on Sunday to elect its president and decide whether or not to continue its European path. This double vote is crucial for the future of this former Soviet republic against a backdrop of fear of Russian interference.
President Maia Sandu, who has resolutely turned her small neighboring country of Ukraine towards the European Union, is the favorite. According to forecasts, however, he should need a second round, on November 3, to win. Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. (6:00 a.m. in Switzerland) and the first results should be announced late in the evening.
It is above all the referendum organized at the same time as the presidential election which will be scrutinized: will the voters approve the inclusion of the European objective in the Constitution, presented as the only bulwark against Moscow?
Moldova already has a foot in the EU with the official opening of accession negotiations in June. Polls predict a 55% yes victory. However, the unknown lies in the participation rate, which must reach at least 33%. Pro-Russian parties called for a boycott in the hope of invalidating the vote.
Buying votes
Corruption, commando training, disinformation: the police have carried out 350 searches in recent months and carried out hundreds of arrests of suspects accused of wanting to disrupt the electoral process on behalf of Russia.
An “unprecedented” vote-buying system was revealed, involving 150,000 Moldovans paid to slip anti-Sandu and anti-EU ballots into the ballot box, or even 300,000 including their relatives, according to investigators. That corresponds to about a quarter of the expected voters in the country of 2.6 million people.
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On the eve of the election, Maia Sandu called on the social network “The destiny of our country, for many decades, rests on Sunday’s decision,” she insisted during the campaign.
Maia Sandu faces ten candidates
The first woman to occupy, in 2020, the highest positions in this state located between NATO and the Russian sphere of influence, this 52-year-old economist with a reputation for being incorruptible has become a leading European personality. She is credited with 36% of voting intentions.
Facing Maia Sandu, we find no heavyweight but a string of ten candidates, most of them more or less linked to Moscow behind speeches of “neutrality”. Some speak Russian, in addition to the official language of Romanian.
Alexandr Stoianoglo, a 57-year-old former prosecutor supported by the pro-Russian socialists, is at 9%. Dismissed by his rival, he calls for “restoring justice” in the face of a power ready, according to the opposition, to violate rights.
Renato Usatii, former mayor of Balti, Moldova’s second city (6.4%), also has a card to play. With the Moldovan flag on his shoulders, the 45-year-old claims to be “the only candidate not to be controlled by either the East or the West.”
Russia denies any interference
According to the WatchDog think tank, Russia spent around a hundred million dollars in the run-up to the vote, organized in a context of record inflation. In the maneuver, we would find the oligarch Ilan Shor, refugee in Moscow after a conviction for fraud. The Kremlin, for its part, “categorically” rejected the accusations of interference.
afp/dk
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