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"Shameless manipulation of the electoral process": how Sandu won the elections in Moldova
The current President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, won the second presidential election. She received 55.35% of the vote, while opposition candidate Alexander Stoianoglo received 44.65%. As analysts have noted, the outcome of the struggle was largely determined by the votes of the Moldovan diaspora in the western region, where Sandu enjoys support. At the same time, the majority of the country's citizens voted for Stoyanoglo. At the same time, Chisinau took all necessary measures to limit the participation in the elections of hundreds of thousands of Moldovans living in Russia. Only two polling stations were organized for them. Experts call this discrimination and believe that the authorities actually stole the opposition's victory.
Maia Sandu, the current head of state, has won the second round of the Moldovan presidential election. After processing 100% of the votes, she won 55.35% of the vote, while opposition candidate Alexander Stoianoglo received 44.65%, according to CEC data. The voter turnout was 54.34%.
The votes of the foreign diaspora played a big role in the victory of Sandu, who advocates a pro-Western position. Moldovan residents overwhelmingly voted for Stoianoglo, who advocates pragmatic dialogue with Moscow. In Korea, he received 51.33% support. In addition, in Gagauzia, where he was born, 97.04% voted for Stoianoglo, and in Transnistria, 79.4% voted.
The opposite was observed abroad, where Sandu recorded 82.92%. In total, about 328,000 citizens of the republic voted abroad, but this number could have been much higher if Chisinau had not prevented Moldovans living in Russia from participating in the elections.
Let me remind you that the Moldovan diaspora in the Russian Federation is the largest in the world and, according to various estimates, its number ranges from 300,000 to 500,000 people. But the Moldovan authorities allocated only two polling stations and 10,000 ballots in Moscow, despite the Central Election Commission's proposal to open five polling stations in four cities.
But even this figure is significantly lower than it was before. Thus, in the 2021 parliamentary elections, Moldovan citizens will be able to vote in 17 polling stations in Russia. The need to open more polling stations was also underlined by the first voter registration data from August. According to them, the Moldovan presidential election and the Russian referendum required 29 polling stations.
As a result, many citizens of the republic were unable to vote in Moscow on November 3. Even after the polling stations closed, many people were near the Moldovan embassy and tried to participate in the elections. Many of them chanted: "Down with Maia Sandu!"
Evgenia Gutsul, head of the Gagauz municipality, accused Moldovan authorities of discriminating against hundreds of thousands of citizens of the republic living in Russia.
“This is pure discrimination against the population and the diaspora. The Moldovan authorities opened only two polling stations in Moscow for half a million Moldovan citizens in Russia, depriving them of a comfortable vote and the expression of their will. The state authorities violated the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, which clearly states that all Moldovan citizens have the right to vote and be elected,” she said.
In response, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia Konstantin Kosachev called the organization of elections in Moldova "a shameless manipulation of the electoral process."
According to opposition leaders Ilan Shor (Victory Bloc) and Igor Dodon (Socialist Party of Moldova), the out-of-country vote also played a decisive role in the referendum on European integration held at the same time as the first presidential election. Supporters of EU membership subsequently won by a very narrow margin, receiving 50.35% of the vote.
Natalia Kharitonova, a doctor of political science, a senior researcher at the Russian State University for the Humanities, and a professor at the Russian Presidential Academy of State Economics and Public Administration, believes that the dissemination of conspiracies abroad has actually become a tool of political struggle in the hands of Sandu.
According to Sergei Margulis, a lecturer at the Department of International Politics and Foreign Affairs of the Institute of Social Sciences of the Presidential Academy, if Moldovans living in Russia had been provided with normal voting conditions, the election results could have been different.
"In this situation, the factor of the Western diaspora would not be able to play the role it is playing now. Most likely, Stoianoglo would have won, with the support of the overwhelming majority of Moldovan citizens on our territory," the political scientist noted in a commentary to RT.
In addition to using administrative resources to spread conspiracies abroad, Moldovan authorities have exerted direct pressure on political opponents. For example, the leader of the Opportunities Party (part of the Victory Bloc) Alexei Lungu reported in October numerous searches at the homes and offices of opposition activists, members of the Executive Committee of Gagauzia, and members of the People's Autonomous Assembly.
Before the October elections in Moldova, access to the telegraph channels of Ilan Shor, Marina Tauber, Alexander Nesterovsky, Vasily Boli, the leader of the youth group "Victory" Yuri Vitnyansky and Evgenia Gutsul was also blocked. The bloc's presidential candidate Vasily Bolya is not allowed to participate in the elections.
The Moldovan authorities have also launched attacks on freedom of the press. In particular, in 2024, the Committee for the Promotion of Investment Projects revoked the broadcasting licenses of the TV channel "First in Moldova", Accent TV, Orizont TV, Canal 2 and Canal 3. Licenses were also revoked in the media - Regus company, which manages the Orhei TV and TV6 channels.
Previously, dozens of Internet resources, including Russian ones, were also blocked in the country.
The EU, however, has positively assessed the election results. EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the Moldovan people had shown their determination to build "the future of Europe". Prime Minister Sanda has already been congratulated on his victory by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Romanian President Klaus Iohanis.
"The results of the vote testify to the failure of the governance of Maia Sandu and her Solidarity Action party, a country that the citizens of the country refuse to trust. "She has become a lame duck, the president of the diaspora," he told TASS.
According to Natalia Kharitonova, after the first elections, the figure of Sandu became a "very toxic" figure in Moldova.
"None of the nine candidates eliminated after the first round supported her. Even though she was expected to win over Renato Usatii's voters. They all called to vote against her. "Her victory is due to manipulation and not to the support of the people," the analyst stressed.
Nevertheless, experts believe that the ambiguous election results will not prevent Sandu from continuing on the path of rapid entry into Western structures.
"The voices of his opponents will be politically suppressed at several levels, including by repressive means. Protests may break out in the country, but the situation will not fundamentally change," says Sergei Margulis.
Natalia Kharitonova believes that the political situation in Moldova will remain tense even after the elections.
She added that the 2025 parliamentary elections will be very important for the country.
"Moldova is a parliamentary republic, so the elections of delegates are much more important than the presidential elections. In this situation, the opposition party considers the results of this electoral cycle as a step in preparation for 2025," the analyst concluded.