Not only the USA, where the presidential elections will be held in November, but also Europe is waiting for a fateful vote – in Moldova. On October 20, the citizens of this country will determine not only the name of the new president, but also the future vector of the state’s development. Meanwhile, against the backdrop of large-scale Russian interference and voter bribery, Moldova faces serious challenges in its quest for European integration.
The Central Election Commission of the Republic of Moldova has registered the last candidates for the presidential elections to be held on October 20. 11 candidates will take part in the voting. The election campaign has already begun, and the first candidates have officially entered the race. The latest poll conducted by IData shows that if the elections were held next Sunday, Maia Sandu would have won a second mandate as President of the Republic of Moldova.
The campaign is taking place against the background of accusations of meddling by pro-Kremlin forces in the election process. Moldovan police have announced attempts to bribe tens of thousands of voters with the aim of undermining the country’s aspirations for European integration. These accusations increase the tension before the elections and the referendum, because they will determine the vector of Moldova’s development for the coming years.
During the first term of Maia Sandu’s presidency, the Republic of Moldova achieved the status of a candidate country for joining the European Union and began official negotiations for membership – two important foreign policy victories that were made possible, first of all, thanks to Ukraine’s resilience in the fight against Russian invasion. At the same time, domestically, Sandu faces criticism for failing to fulfill one of the main promises she won the 2020 election with — to clean up the judiciary and bring oligarchs to justice.
After the official launch of the election campaign in Chisinau, Maya Sandu went to the villages of the country to talk to people and present her plan for the development of Moldova.
She again calls on citizens to support her in the elections, putting forward European integration as the main theme of her campaign. Sandu promises to prepare the Republic of Moldova for joining the European Union by 2030.
“Our generation has a historical mission — to integrate Moldova into the European family,” – emphasized the president, revealing the election program, which is based on three key goals: caring for people, improving living conditions and ensuring peace.
It is important to note that Maya Sandu did not resign as president during the election campaign, as the law does not allow her to be suspended. However, as the country’s leader stated, she uses a different car, not a work car, and the team that worked with her, in accordance with the law, is relieved of their duties.
If the elections were held next Sunday, almost 27% of Moldovans would vote for the current head of state. Russophile Renato Usatiy, the former mayor of Beltsy and the leader of “Our Party”, comes second with almost 13%, followed by other candidates. Usatiy started the presidential campaign with the intention to “destroy the system that lasted for 33 years and blocked the development of the country and the well-being of citizens.” One of his main points programs — transition to a presidential republic.
We will remind that in the 2021 parliamentary elections, Usatoy’s bloc won only 4% of the votes and did not enter the parliament. However, his party took third place in Baltsy in terms of the number of votes. Then Usatiy said that he was resigning as mayor because he “doesn’t like politics.”
As reported by the Reuters agency, pro-Kremlin forces are interfering in the upcoming presidential elections in Moldova, organizing a large-scale conspiracy that includes bribing tens of thousands of voters. The purpose of this campaign — to frustrate Chisinau’s efforts on the way to European integration and rapprochement with the European Union.
Maya Sandu has long accused Russia of trying to overthrow her government using various methods of influence. However, Moscow categorically denies these accusations.
The head of Moldova’s national police, Viorel Cernautanu, says that more than 130,000 Moldovans have already been bribed by a network run from Russia. The goal is to vote against the referendum and in favor of candidates who support pro-Russian politics. Cernautanu described it as an “unprecedented direct attack”.
“We are faced with large-scale manifestations of financing and corruption aimed at undermining the electoral process in Moldova.” he said during a meeting with journalists.
On October 20, in addition to the presidential elections, a constitutional referendum will also be held, where citizens will have to express their opinion on the country’s accession to the European Union. Experts emphasize the importance of active participation of citizens to recognize the plebiscite. In their opinion, the insufficient result can be used by Russia to disrupt the European integration process of the Republic of Moldova. Journalist Madalin Nexutou believes that any low result will be used by Russia to discredit the idea of the European Union, even if from a legal point of view this referendum is not decisive for the European course of the Republic of Moldova. Meanwhile, invalidity or a low result will not lead to the abandonment of the European path for the Republic of Moldova, since the EU is very well aware of Moldova’s weak resistance to Russia’s hybrid war against it.
A negative vote is unlikely, says WatchDog director Valeriu Pasha, even given that parties controlled by the Russian Federation are advocating a boycott of the referendum. The expert talks about the risk of low voter turnout due to “too many voters entered in the lists”. The point is that the actual number of voters is much lower, perhaps 40% lower, than the number of voters entered in the lists. Under these conditions, even if the referendum is recognized as valid, Kremlin propaganda will be able to claim that little has been taken into account.
The Kremlin and politicians close to it have reinforced false narratives aimed at creating panic among citizens, warns the executive director of the Institute of Strategic Initiatives (IPIS), Vadym Pystrinchuk.
“A lot of money is invested in the campaign to spread false information. These are colossal amounts, especially compared to the scale of the Republic of Moldova. They are aimed at changing people’s behavior — to intimidate someone or provoke aggression. In the south of the country, we see that ATO governor Gagauzia, who represents the Ilan Shor party conglomerate, very often makes toxic statements that threaten inter-ethnic peace.” Other sensitive topics for the Republic of Moldova are also discussed.
Veridica.ro – a platform that specializes in exposing disinformation, writes about one such narrative: the success of the referendum on the European integration of the Republic of Moldova “may lead to the loss of traditional family values.”
The LGBT topic is very sensitive in the country due to conservative attitudes and the influence of the church. Russian propaganda and ultraconservatives, in particular representatives of the Metropolitanate of Moldova, use the LGBT issue to discredit the European Union and pro-European governments in Moldova. The EU is depicted as “Geirope”, contrasting it with the traditional Christian values that Russia supposedly defends. The idea of an “LGBT agenda” that the EU will try to impose is induced. An attempt is made to equate human rights, which represent a fundamental value of the European community, with the promotion and encouragement of “non-traditional” sexual relations.
This manipulation is aimed at creating a negative image of the EU by equating human rights with the support of “non-traditional” sexual relations. In fact, the EU does not have an LGBT program, but supports respect for human rights and the rights of minorities. There were conditions for ensuring the rights of minorities, but the Republic of Moldova fulfilled them as early as 2012.
As reported by a popular Romanian news portal Ziare.com, yesterday the Security Service of the Republic of Moldova blocked access to five websites that have ties to Russia. This was done to prevent possible threats to information security and influence on the election process by the Kremlin. Blocking such sites is part of efforts to counter disinformation and Russian propaganda aimed at undermining democratic processes in Moldova.
Russian interference in the pre-election process in the Republic of Moldova also worries the US State Department, which is monitoring Russian actions aimed at disrupting the referendum. American high-ranking officials note that earlier disinformation was mainly spread in Russian. However, lately it has started to appear as perfect Romanian, which makes it difficult to recognize. And this already means a new stage of the hybrid information war aimed at influencing public opinion in Moldova.
