CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Moldovans cast their ballots in a decisive presidential election Sunday that pits pro-Western incumbent Maia Sandu against a Russia-friendly opponent as persistent claims of voter fraud and intimidation threaten democracy in the candidate state of threaten the European Union.
In the first round on October 20, Sandu received 42% of the vote, but failed to gain an outright majority. She will face Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former attorney general, who outperformed the polls in the first round with almost 26% of the vote. Polling stations open at 7am local time (5am GMT) on Sunday and close at 9pm (7pm GMT).
A poll by research firm iData shows a tight race trending towards a narrow Sandu victory, an outcome that could depend on Moldova’s large diaspora. The presidential role includes significant powers in areas such as foreign policy and national security and has a four-year term.
The Moldovan diaspora played a key role in a nationwide referendum also held on October 20, when a narrow majority of 50.35% voted in favor of securing Moldova’s path to EU membership. But the results of the voting rounds, including Sunday’s, have been overshadowed by allegations of a massive vote-buying scheme and voter intimidation.
Rather than gaining the overwhelming support Sandu had hoped for, the results of both races revealed the Moldovan judiciary’s inability to adequately protect the democratic process.
On Friday, Moldova’s Prime Minister Dorin Recean said people across the country were receiving “anonymous death threats via phone calls” in what he called “an extreme attack” to frighten voters in the former Soviet republic, which has a population of about 2.5 million. to make. people.
“These acts of intimidation have one purpose: to spread panic and fear,” Recean said in a statement on social media. “I assure you that state institutions will ensure order and protect citizens.”
In the aftermath of the two October votes, Moldovan law enforcement said a vote-buying scheme was orchestrated by Ilan Shor, an exiled oligarch living in Russia who was convicted in absentia last year of fraud and money laundering. Shor denies any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors say $39 million in voter payments was made to more than 130,000 recipients between September and October through an internationally sanctioned Russian bank. Anti-corruption authorities have carried out hundreds of raids and seized more than $2.7 million (2.5 million euros) in cash in their bid to crack down.
In one case in Gagauzia, an autonomous part of Moldova where only 5% voted in favor of the EU, a doctor was arrested after allegedly forcing 25 residents of a retirement home to vote for a candidate they had not chosen. Police said they had obtained “conclusive evidence” including financial transfers from the same Russian bank.
On Saturday, at a church in Comrat, Gagauzia’s capital, Father Vasilii told the Associated Press that he urged people to vote because it is a “civic duty” and that they do not name candidates. “We use the goods that the country offers us – light, gas,” he said. “Whether we like what the government is doing or not, we have to vote. … The church always prays for peace.”
On Thursday, prosecutors also raided the headquarters of a political party and said 12 people were suspected of paying voters to select a candidate in the presidential race. A criminal case was also opened in which 40 employees of government agencies were suspected of accepting election bribes.
Cristian Cantir, a Moldovan associate professor of international relations at Oakland University, told the AP that whatever the outcome of the second round, geopolitical tensions “will not subside.” “On the contrary, I expect that geopolitical polarization will be strengthened by the campaign for the 2025 parliamentary elections,” he said.
Moldovan law enforcement needs more resources and better trained personnel to work faster to tackle voter fraud, he added, to “create an environment where anyone tempted to buy or sell votes knows that this is clear and will have rapid consequences.”
A pro-Western government has been in power in Moldova since 2021, and parliamentary elections will be held in 2025. Moldovan observers warn that next year’s vote could be Moscow’s main target.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moldova applied to join the EU. In June of that year it was granted candidate country status, and in the summer of 2024 Brussels agreed to start membership negotiations. The sharp shift westward irritated Moscow and significantly soured relations with Chisinau.
Since then, Moldovan authorities have repeatedly accused Russia of waging a massive “hybrid war,” from extensive disinformation campaigns to protests by pro-Russian parties and vote-buying schemes that are undermining elections across the country. Russia has denied interfering.
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Stephen McGrath reported from Bucharest, Romania; Nicolae Dumitrache from Comrat, Moldova.
