Pro-Western Candidate Wins Presidential Election in Moldova

With the second round of the presidential election in Moldova held, Maia Sandu, the current pro-Western president of this small European country, has once again emerged victorious. The votes for Maia Sandu and Alexander Stoianoglo, the former prosecutor of Moldova, were roughly equal until about 90% of the votes were counted; however, Ms. Sandu gradually pulled ahead of her Russia-leaning rival and was ultimately declared the winner with approximately 55% of the votes, a margin of about 10%. The presidential election in Moldova, particularly its second round, was heavily overshadowed by accusations of Russian interference, which Moscow denies. The victory of the 52-year-old president and former World Bank advisor in the election on November 4 is interpreted by Maia Sandu's supporters as a sign of the Moldovans' alignment with her efforts to distance the country from Moscow and join the European Union. On the other hand, the high votes for Alexander Stoianoglo in parts of the country have raised alarm bells for Ms. Sandu's party ahead of the parliamentary elections next summer, a crucial election that will determine the composition of the next government. Alexander Stoianoglo, the defeated candidate and former Attorney General of Moldova, claimed during the campaign that he supports Moldova's membership in the European Union, but at the same time considers maintaining and developing relations with Russia to be in the national interest. However, Maia Sandu referred to him as the 'Trojan horse of the Kremlin,' a claim that Mr. Stoianoglo denied. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union over thirty years ago, Moldova has constantly oscillated between pro-Western and pro-Moscow governments. The political situation and future of the poorest country in Europe have gained significant importance since the Russian military invasion of Ukraine about three years ago. EU officials in Brussels closely monitored this round of the presidential elections, especially since just a week earlier, in Georgia, another former Soviet republic, the pro-Moscow ruling party had won again. In her victory speech, Maia Sandu emphasized that in this election 'no one is a loser and all Moldovans have won,' stating that she has heard 'the voices of all voters, both supporters and opponents' and is committed to being the president of 'all Moldovans.' The election on Sunday saw the largest participation of Moldovans living abroad, a presence that effectively determined the final outcome of the election. If only the votes from within Moldova were counted, Maia Sandu would have lost by a margin of about 2.5%, receiving 48.8% of the votes compared to 51.2% for Alexander Stoianoglo. However, Ms. Sandu managed to secure over 80% of the votes from abroad, which changed the overall election result and led to her final victory. Concurrently with the second round of the election, Stanislav Secrieru, Ms. Sandu's national security advisor, accused Russia of 'extensive efforts' to manipulate the results. On the other hand, a senior member of the Russian Senate and an ally of Vladimir Putin, without providing evidence, accused the Moldovan election officials of 'fraud and counting fake votes.' Andrei Klishas, in a post on Telegram, referred to the votes of Moldovans living abroad, addressing the officials of Moldova's Central Election Commission, wrote: 'You count the ballots yourselves and know how many votes your candidate is short, and based on that, you bring in the necessary votes from abroad.' Earlier, especially in the lead-up to the first round of elections, Moldovan officials accused Ilan Shor, a Moldovan oligarch born in Israel whose party was banned last year for 'inciting a coup' by the government and the Constitutional Court of Moldova, of attempting to strengthen Russia's position among the people of Moldova by paying millions of dollars to voters and influential figures, thereby fueling their dissatisfaction with the current government. In the weeks leading up to the election, Moldova's customs reported the arrival of travelers from transit routes such as Istanbul or Yerevan originating from Moscow, carrying large amounts of cash. According to the Kishinev airport police, over one and a half million dollars were seized from these travelers in just one day, and none of these travelers took action to pursue the matter or reclaim these amounts. Moldovan officials believe this money is part of Ilan Shor's and Russia's efforts to influence the election results. Russia, which still has hundreds of soldiers in a Soviet-era base in the predominantly Russian-speaking autonomous region of Transnistria, denies these accusations. During her four-year presidency, Maia Sandu has distanced her country from Moscow while striving for EU membership and condemned Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, expelling several Russian diplomats. The Kremlin accuses Ms. Sandu's government of 'Russophobia.' Maia Sandu framed the November 4 election as a choice between 'a bright future in the EU by 2030' or instability and poverty. On the other hand, Alexander Stoianoglo, rejecting Ms. Sandu's claims, accused her of neglecting the interests and livelihoods of ordinary people in the country. The former Attorney General of Moldova accused the president of adopting 'divisive policies' in a country with a large Russian-speaking minority. However, Mr. Stoianoglo, following the election results announcement, called on all Moldovans to maintain calm and composure. While Maia Sandu's victory announcement has been welcomed by leaders of the EU, Ukraine, and many other countries, the Kremlin has yet to respond officially.