With 99.64% of the votes processed, the ‘yes’ vote stood at 50.46% and the ‘no’ vote at 49.54%.
Maia Sandu, the country’s pro-EU president, also emerged victorious in the first round of the presidential election but will face a run-off vote on November 3 after failing to achieve a majority against her nearest rival, Alexandr Stoianoglo.
The ‘yes’ faction had been widely tipped to comfortably win the EU referendum with earlier forecasts putting the pro-EU camp on 60% of the vote. However, the outcome was left poised on a knife-edge with Sandu, blaming foreign interference for the unexpectedly tight vote.
“Moldova has faced an unprecedented assault on our country’s freedom and democracy, both today and in recent months,” Sandu said on Sunday while votes were still being counted.
Allegations of Russian interference have swirled in recent days with Moldovan authorities revealing that they had uncovered a huge cash-for-votes plot orchestrated by Moscow. Police have accused fugitive businessman Ilan Shor of paying voters to vote ‘no’, with officials saying that up to a quarter of ballots could have been impacted by the scheme.
According to police, hundreds of Moldovans had also been trained in Russia to create “mass disorder”, claims that Moscow has flatly denied.
Speaking to supporters on Sunday in the capital, Chisinau, Sandu said that “criminal groups” had ambushed the election in a bid to “undermine the democratic process”. Sandu added that there was “clear evidence” to show that 300,000 votes had been compromised.
As early results began to filter through, it had appeared that Moldova had turned its back on the EU, only for a last-minute push by Moldavans living abroad to tip the balance back in favor of the ‘yes’ vote.
Sandu, a former World Bank advisor, has been at the front end of Moldova’s campaign to join the EU.
In 2022, the European Commission green-lighted Moldova’s EU candidacy and opened accession talks in June 2024. The EU has already pledged almost $2 billion in economic aid to help the county achieve the necessary financial reforms.
Sandu, who was elected president in 2020, is still favorite to win the second round, but could have a battle on her hands if the opposition voters unite behind Stoianoglo, a pro-Russian socialist. A weak showing in the election could undermine the chances of her Action and Solidarity Party securing a win in next year’s general election that will keep the government’s plan to join the EU by 2030 on track.
Despite winning 39% of the vote, and finishing 11% ahead of her nearest competitor, the pro-Russian socialist Alexandr Stoianoglo, Sandu failed to win an outright majority, and the presidential election will now go to a run-off.
Considered one of Europe’s poorest countries, Moldova, a country of approximately 2.5 million people, has sought to distance itself from Moscow in recent years with incumbent authorities vocal in their criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, the country has struggled to remove itself from Moscow’s orbit with predominately Russian-speaking regions still supporting closer ties with the Kremlin as opposed to EU membership.
