Moldovan President Maia Sandu has won a second term in the presidential elections in Moldova, dealing a blow to the Kremlin, writes the headline of the newspaper “The Guardian“, quoted by BTA.
The British publication notes that Sandu's victory is a significant boost to the country's aspirations for membership in the European Union and a clear rebuff to Moscow. The second round of the elections was seen as a decisive indicator of whether the country will orient itself in the long term towards Russia or towards Europe. Pro-Western President Sandu, who has stepped up the country's efforts to break away from Moscow's influence, is facing a runoff against Moscow-friendly political newcomer Alexander Stoyanoglou of the Socialist Party.
With 98 percent of the ballots counted, Sandu is leading with 54.35 percent, the Central Election Commission said. Analysts say that with only a fraction of the Moldovan diaspora's votes still to be counted, Sandu is almost certain to win a second term. Preliminary results suggest that the large Moldovan diaspora, which accounts for about 20 percent of the electorate, voted overwhelmingly for Sandu, the Guardian notes.
In her victory speech, delivered after almost all the votes had been counted, Sandu said she had listened to the voices of her supporters and her opponent Stoyanoglou. She said her main goal in the coming years would be to serve as president of all Moldovan citizens.
“Moldova, you win! Today, dear Moldovans, you have taught a lesson in democracy that deserves a place in history textbooks. Today, you saved Moldova. No one loses with our choice for a dignified future. Freedom, truth and justice have triumphed,“ she said.
Sandu's position was weakened after a referendum she initiated, in which Moldovans were asked whether they supported EU integration, which was won by pro-Europeans by a narrow margin on 20 October. The referendum took place alongside the first round of presidential elections, in which Sandu won 42 percent of the vote but fell short of an absolute majority.
The election result will be welcomed in Brussels a week after Georgia, another former Soviet republic hoping to join the EU, re-elected a party seen by most Western countries as increasingly friendly to Moscow.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Sandu on her election victory and the country's "European future."
"It takes incredible strength to overcome the challenges you faced in these elections. I am happy to work with you for the European future of Moldova and its people," von der Leyen wrote on the social network "Ex". The EU has pledged a multi-year package of €1.8 billion for Moldova to help it through its accession process, which the country officially launched in June. Sandu has vowed to work “around the clock” to bring Moldova into the EU by 2030.
Moldova has oscillated between a pro-Western and a pro-Russian stance since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Guardian reports. Under Sandu, a former World Bank adviser, the impoverished country has accelerated its bid to break free from Moscow’s orbit amid the ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine. Both rounds of the presidential election, as well as the EU referendum vote, have been marred by allegations of Russian interference. For months, Sandu and her allies have accused Russia and its proxies of waging a massive campaign involving vote-buying and disinformation to sway the election. The Kremlin denies interfering in the vote.
“We strongly reject any accusations that we are interfering in this in any way. We are not doing this“, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. During election debates late last week, Sandu accused Stoyanoglou of being a “Trojan horse“ of foreign interests seeking to take control of Moldova.
Stoyanoglou denied working for Russia's interests. In an interview with the “Guardian“ in October, he said he was in favor of joining the EU. He also refused to criticize Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and called for improved relations with Moscow. “The level of Russian interference in Moldova is greatly exaggerated“, he said, adding that he would seek to “reset relations“ with Moscow.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shocked many in Chisinau, just a few hours' drive from Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odessa. Moscow has 1,500 troops in Transnistria, a region ruled by pro-Russian separatists who broke away from Moldova during a brief war in the 1990s.
Ukraine, whose president Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly praised Sandu, will breathe a sigh of relief as many in Kiev were uneasy about the prospect of a Russia-friendly president leading the neighbouring country, the Guardian reports. Moldova's pro-European president Maia Sandu wins a contested run-off amid accusations of Russian interference, the Independent headlines. The British publication notes that the high stakes of the elections highlight Moldova's precarious position amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Christian Cantir, a Moldovan-born associate professor of international relations at the University of Auckland, noted that the election result is unlikely to quell political divisions in the country. "On the contrary, I expect geopolitical polarization to intensify from the campaign for the 2025 parliamentary elections," he said. Cantir argues that Moldova's electoral authorities need more resources and better trained staff to effectively combat vote fraud and "create an environment in which anyone tempted to buy or sell votes knows that there will be clear and swift consequences."
Moldova's path to EU membership gained momentum in 2022, when the country was granted candidate status following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Although Brussels agreed to start formal membership talks in June this year, analysts warn that next year's parliamentary vote could see even greater Russian interference, the Independent reports.
Pro-European Maia Sandu has been re-elected as Moldova's president, another setback for the Kremlin, the French newspaper Le Monde headlines. The French publication notes that pro-European candidate Maia Sandu was re-elected for a second four-year term, largely thanks to the strong mobilisation of a fairly young, urban and educated electorate, as well as the large Moldovan diaspora living in the EU.
At least 300,000 Moldovans abroad turned out to vote at embassies and consulates, an "absolute record" according to the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova, which counts a total of 3.3 million registered voters. In the run-off, the pro-Western camp mobilized strongly, receiving 910,000 votes. This is significantly more than the 750,000 votes cast in favor of EU membership in the referendum held on October 20, the same time as the first round of the presidential election. In the previous elections in 2020, Maia Sandu received 943,006 votes (57.72 percent) in the second round against the socialist Igor Dodon, recalls “Monde“. This time, however, the country greeted Sandu's victory calmly. There were no scenes of jubilation in front of Sandu's campaign headquarters. There were no car horns blaring or fireworks, as there were four years ago on the streets of downtown Chisinau. Without the diaspora's votes, Alexandru Stoyanoglou would probably have won by a narrow margin with 51 percent of the vote, the French newspaper points out.