Moldova narrowly votes 'yes' to EU membership

Moldova's pro-Western president Maia Sandu said her camp "won fairly in an unfair fight" on Monday after a referendum found voters to be narrowly in favor of joining the European Union, despite allegations of Russian interference.

With all votes counted by Monday evening, the "yes" vote for future EU membership emerged with a wafer-thin majority of 50.46%, according to Moldova's electoral commission.

Pro-Russian parties had urged people to vote "no" or boycott the vote altogether, but turnout was close to 50%, comfortably higher than the 33% threshold required to make the vote binding.

"The people of Moldova have spoken: our EU future will now be anchored in the constitution," Sandu wrote on social media. "But the fight isn't over. We will keep pushing for peace, prosperity and the freedom to build our own future."

Ahead of the referendum, surveys suggested around 55% of Moldovans supported Sandu's aim of pushing for EU membership, while 34% were against it.

But the margin of victory was much smaller than the pro-EU camp had expected, with Sandu complaining that "dirty interference" had cost her camp support.

She blamed "criminal groups, working together with foreign forces hostile to our national interests" for "an unprecedented assault" on Moldova's democracy.

Western leaders congratulate Sandu

"In the face of Russia's hybrid tactics, Moldova shows that it is independent, it is strong and it wants a European future!" said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell added: "The EU and Moldova share a common future."

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the former head of the European Council,  called Moldova a "brave nation," adding: "Infuriate Moscow, impress Europe, save her country once again — that's who Maia Sandu is."

In the United States, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said "the results demonstrate Moldovan democracy is strong." Moscow has "been working actively to undermine Moldova's election and their European integration," he said. "[But] Russia did not succeed."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock expressed "relief" at the "very close" result but called Moldova's EU strategy "the best security guarantee for the local people so they can live in peace and freedom in the future." 

Speaking alongside counterparts from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in Berlin, she added: "We are 100% united and determined in our support not only for Ukraine, but also for Moldova." 

Moldova, one the smallest and poorest countries in Europe, is a former Soviet republic nestled between Romania, an EU and NATO member with which Moldova shares an official language, and Ukraine, which has been fending off Russia's full-scale invasion for almost three years.

A narrow eastern strip of Moldova, Transnistria, is controlled by Russian-backed separatists and is home to around 3,000 Russian troops.

Police uncover signs of Russian interference

Ahead of Sunday's election, Moldovan authorities said they had uncovered a massive vote-buying scheme allegedly involving millions of dollars from Russia.

Police have accused Ilan Shor, a fugitive businessman and former politician living in Russia, of trying to pay voters to back a specific presidential candidate and vote "no" in the EU referendum. Shor, who was convicted in absentia of fraud last year, is under Western sanctions and denies wrongdoing. 

Police warned this week that up to a quarter of ballots could be tainted by Russian cash.

Authorities also said they had uncovered a plan that involved hundreds of people being taken to Russia to be trained to stage riots and create "mass disorder" in Moldova.

Sandu has repeatedly issued warnings about Russian efforts to meddle in the vote — allegations Moscow has rejected.

On Monday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moldovan authorities used "anti-democratic, totalitarian methods" in the election campaign and accused Western countries of "blatant interference in the electoral process," without providing any evidence.

Did Moldovans abroad tip the scales?

Earlier on Monday, preliminary results published with about 70% of ballots counted suggested that Moldovans were going to reject plans to add the goal EU membership to the country's constitution.

"I don't understand why in our country some values that are foreign to us are promoted so aggressively," Ana Botnaru, a 37-year-old housewife, told the AFP news agency, while others said EU advocates were "dangerous extremists who want to drag Moldova into war".

But ballots cast by Moldovans living abroad, often younger people living in the EU, were only counted toward the end, giving the "yes" camp a last-minute push and tipping the scales.

Cristian Cantir, a Moldovan associate professor of international relations at Oakland University, told The Associated Press that earlier polls might have "overestimated the pro-EU feeling" inside Moldova and the referendum would have failed to pass without votes from outside the country.

"It's going to be problematic," he said. "It's going to feed into narratives that are pushed by the Kremlin and pro-Russian forces."

Sandu takes narrow lead in the presidential election

Meanwhile, Sandu also took a step closer to a second term in office after coming out ahead in the first round of presidential elections with just over 42% of the vote.

Opponent Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor backed by the pro-Russian Socialists, came second with a higher-than-expected almost 26%.

Turnout for the presidential election stood at more than 51%.

"We have won the first battle in a difficult fight that will determine the future of our country," Sandu told reporters, calling on Moldovans to vote in the second round on November 3. "We heard you: we know we must do more to fight corruption."

Stoianoglo called the vote result a "resounding and shameful failure" for the government, saying: "We have a huge chance to win on November 3 and we will win."

mf/rc (Reuters, AFP, dpa)