Western leaders have hailed Moldovan president Maia Sandu’s re-election as a key victory for the country’s pro-European camp over Russian efforts to regain influence over the state and allegedly manipulate the vote.
Ms Sandu took 55.4 per cent in Sunday’s hard-fought run-off against challenger Alexandr Stoianoglo, who was backed by Moldova’s traditionally pro-Russian Socialist party and said he sought to balance the country’s relations between the West and Moscow.
“We proved that when we are united, we can defeat those who wanted to humiliate us,” said Ms Sandu (52).
“Moldova was subjected to an attack unprecedented in the history of all of Europe: dirty money, illegal vote buying, interference of criminal groups in electoral processes, spreading hatred and fear in our society. But our people united and the citizens won.”
The former prime minister, who studied at Harvard in the United States and worked as an adviser at the World Bank, narrowly lost the domestic vote to Mr Stoianoglo but won thanks to a landslide among compatriots abroad; about 2.5 million Moldovans live in the country and about 1.2 million are overseas, and economic hardship remains a key driver of migration away from one of Europe’s poorest states.
“In our choice of a dignified future, no one lost,” Ms Sandu said. “I have heard your voice – both those who supported me and those who voted for Mr Stoianoglo. I commit to being a president for all of you.”
Ms Sandu took the first round of the election by a narrower margin than expected on October 20th, when the “yes” vote in a simultaneous referendum on enshrining Moldova’s EU membership ambitions in its constitution won by a mere whisker, emboldening Moscow and its supporters in the country.
Moldova said Russia and shadowy pro-Kremlin Moldovan businessmen spent tens of millions of euro on bribing people to vote against Ms Sandu, and on Sunday accused Moscow of launching cyberattacks and paying to transport voters to polling stations abroad to vote for her rival.
Moscow denied meddling in the election but has clashed with Ms Sandu over her uncompromising stance towards the Kremlin: her government supports the West and Ukraine, has joined western sanctions against Russia and has expelled dozens of Russian diplomats.
“The EU warmly congratulates Maia Sandu on her re-election ... despite unprecedented interference by Russia, including with vote-buying schemes and disinformation. These hybrid attempts have sought to undermine the country’s democratic institutions and its EU path,” the EU said in a statement on Monday.
French president Emmanuel Macron said “democracy has triumphed against all the interference and all the manoeuvres”, and German chancellor Olaf Scholz said Ms Sandu had “safely guided Moldova through difficult times and set her country’s European course”.
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