CHISINAU, Moldova — Moldova’s pro-Western President Maia Sandu has won a second term in a key presidential election against a pro-Russia challenger, in a race clouded by allegations of Russian interference, voter fraud, and intimidation of a European Union member. the country.
With close to 99% of votes counted in the second round of Sunday’s presidential election, Sandu had 55% of the vote, according to the Central Electoral Commission, or CEC, compared to 45% for Alexandr Stoianoglo, the former Prosecutor General. supported by the pro-Russia Party of Socialists.
The result will be a major relief for the pro-Western government, which strongly supports Sandu’s election, and his push for closer ties with the West on Moldova’s path towards the EU.
“Moldova, you have won! Today, dear Moldovans, you gave a lesson in democracy, worthy of being written in the history books. Today, you saved Moldova!” Sandu said after winning at midnight.
Read more: State by State Results So Far in the World’s Biggest Election Year
He went on to say that his country’s vote had faced “unprecedented attacks” on allegations of schemes involving dirty money, vote-buying, and election interference by “hostile forces from outside the country” and criminal groups.
“He has shown that nothing can stop the power of the people if they choose to speak about their vote,” he added.
Speaking before the final counting of votes, Stoianoglo told the media that “everyone’s voice deserves to be respected” and he hoped that “from now on, we will end the hatred and division that has been imposed on us.” It is not clear whether he has publicly commented on his defeat in the election.
When polls closed locally at 9 pm (1900 GMT), voters stood at more than 1.68 million people—about 54% of eligible voters, according to the CEC. A large turnout in Moldova, with a record turnout of over 325,000 voters, overwhelmingly favored Sandu in the run-off.
In the first round held on October 20, Sandu received 42% of the vote but failed to win an absolute majority in second place Stoianoglo. The role of the president holds significant power in areas such as foreign policy and national security and has a four-year term.
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Sandu on his victory, writing in X: “It takes a rare kind of strength to overcome the challenges you faced in this election.”
Allegations of vote buying and Russian interference
Moldova’s disintegration played an important role in the presidential vote and in the national referendum held on Oct. 20, where a small majority of 50.35% voted to defend Moldova’s path towards EU membership. But the results of the polls, including Sunday’s vote, have been overshadowed by allegations of a massive vote-buying scheme and voter intimidation.
Instead of receiving the overwhelming support Sandu had hoped for, the results of both races exposed the Moldovan judiciary as unable to adequately protect the democratic process.
On Sunday, the Moldovan police said they had “substantial evidence” of organized transport of voters – illegal under the country’s electoral code – to polling stations from within the country and overseas, and “investigated and registered evidence about air transport from Russia to Belarus, Azerbaijan and Turkey.”
“Such measures are taken to protect the integrity of the electoral process and to ensure that each citizen’s vote is cast freely without pressure or influence,” the police said.
Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday afternoon that polling stations in Frankfurt, Germany, and Liverpool and Northampton in the UK were targeted by false bomb threats, “intended to stop the voting process.”
Stanislav Secrieru, the president’s national security adviser, wrote in X: “We are witnessing massive Russian interference in our election process,” warning that there is “great potential to distort the outcome” of the vote.
Secrieru later added that national voter record systems were targeted by “continuous systematic cyber attacks” to disrupt communication between local and foreign polling stations, and that cyber security teams were “working to combat these threats and ensure system continuity.”
Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said people across the country had received “anonymous death threats over the phone” in what he called an “extreme attack” to intimidate voters in the former Soviet republic, which has a population of about 2.5 million.
After voting in Chisinau, Sandu told reporters: “Thieves want to buy our vote, thieves want to buy our country, but the power of the people is too great.”
Outside a polling station in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, 20-year-old medical student Silviana Zestrea said holding the vote would be a “definitive step” towards Moldova’s future.
“People must understand that we must choose a candidate who will fulfill our expectations,” he said. “Because I think that even though we are a diaspora now, none of us wanted to leave.”
Moldovan police have uncovered a scheme allegedly carried out by a convicted oligarch
After two October votes, Moldovan law enforcement said the vote-buying scheme was orchestrated by Ilan Shor, an exiled oligarch who lives in Russia and was convicted in absentia last year of fraud and money laundering. Shor denies any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors say $39 million in cash was paid to more than 130,000 recipients through a Russian bank authorized worldwide by voters between September and October. Anti-corruption authorities have carried out hundreds of searches and seized more than $2.7 million (2.5 million euros) as they try to dismantle it.
In another incident in Gagauzia, an independent part of Moldova where only 5% voted for the EU, a doctor was arrested after allegedly forcing 25 residents of a home for the elderly to vote for someone they did not choose. Police say they have found “compelling evidence,” including the transfer of funds to the same Russian bank.
On Saturday, at a church in Comrat, the capital of Gagauzia, Father Vasilii told The Associated Press that he urged people to go to the polls because it was a “community duty” and they did not name the candidates.
“We use the goods that the country gives us – light, gas,” he said. “Whether we like what the government is doing or not, we must vote. … The church always prays for peace.”
On Thursday, prosecutors raided the headquarters of a political party and said 12 people were accused of paying voters to choose a presidential candidate. A criminal case was also opened where 40 employees of a government agency were accused of being bribed in the election.
Moldova’s EU future is at stake
Cristian Cantir, a Moldovan professor of international relations at Oakland University, told the AP that whatever the outcome of the second round, it “will not ease” the country’s tensions. “On the contrary, I expect geopolitical polarization to intensify in the 2025 legislative election campaign.”
Law enforcement in Moldova needs more resources and better trained personnel working at a faster pace to deal with voter fraud, he added, “to create an environment where anyone tempted to buy or sell votes knows there will be clear and immediate consequences.”
Savlina Adasan, 21, an economics student in Bucharest, said she voted for Sandu and expressed concern about corruption and voters who have no information about the two candidates.
“We want a European future for our country,” he said, adding that it offers “many opportunities, the development of our country … and I feel that if someone else succeeds, then we go back 10 steps as a country.”
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 focus.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moldova applied to join the EU. It was given the chancellor position in June of that year, and in the summer of 2024, Brussels agreed to begin membership negotiations. The sharp turn to the west angered Moscow and seriously damaged relations with Chisinau.
—McGrath reported from Bucharest, Romania. Associated Press writer Nicolae Dumitrache in Comrat, Moldova, contributed to this report.
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