Preliminary voting results in Moldova: Sandu in the lead, "no" to the pro-EU constitution

2024-10-21 07:47:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Preliminary voting results in Moldova: Sandu in the lead, "no" to the

According to preliminary voting results in Moldova, more than 50 percent voted "no" in Sunday's referendum on Moldovan aspirations for European Union membership, as President Maia Sandu leads her rivals in the presidential election.

With more than 90 percent of the votes counted, according to the Central Election Commission, Ms. Sandu won about 39 percent of the vote followed by Alexandr Stolianoglo, 57, a former prosecutor general backed by the pro-Russian Socialist Party who has won about 28 percent of the votes.

With more than 90 percent of the referendum votes counted by 2 a.m. local time, 53 percent voted "No," according to data on the Election Commission's website.

If the "No" vote remains final, it would be a big surprise as some recent polls said that 63 percent of voters would support the inclusion of the European integration process in Moldova's constitution.

Amid widespread claims that Moscow has stepped up a campaign of "hybrid warfare" to destabilize the country and damage its path to the EU, pro-European President Maia Sandu said on Sunday evening that Moldova faced an "attack of exemplary" to its democracy. She accused "criminal groups" backed by "foreign forces" of using money, lies and propaganda to sway the vote.

Ms Sandu said her government had "clear evidence" that 300,000 votes had been bought, calling it "fraud on an unprecedented scale".

The Kremlin has firmly denied allegations of vote-buying. According to preliminary results, Ms. Sandu will face candidate Stoianoglo in a runoff on November 3. Moldova has shifted between its pro-Western and pro-Russian orientation since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in in 1991.

Relations with Moscow have deteriorated under Ms Sandu's leadership. Its government has condemned Russian aggression in Ukraine, accused Russia of plotting to overthrow it and diversified its energy supply after Russia cut gas supplies.

The former Soviet republic applied to join the EU after Russia's aggression in Ukraine in February 2022 and received candidate country status in the summer of that year, along with Ukraine. In June, Brussels agreed to start membership negotiations./ Voa