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Originally Posted by Skybird
I know nothing about Moldavia. Has anyone seen this coming? I thought they were pro-Europe. But again, I do not really know anything about Moldavia, l was just swallong the usual media gulp.
[Die Welt] In the Republic of Moldova, the government of President Maia Sandu has suffered a serious setback with its pro-European course. According to initial results, the citizens of the south-east European country effectively voted against EU accession in a referendum on Sunday. In addition, Sandu was only just ahead of her pro-Russian rival Alexandr Stolianoglo in the presidential elections held at the same time.
Polls had predicted a clear victory for Sandu. If the figures are confirmed, Stolianoglo could go into the run-off election on November 3 with a tailwind. The figures are also sobering for the EU, as it actively supported Sandu. However, Russia is also struggling for influence in the former Soviet republic. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova has alternated between a pro-Western and a pro-Russian course.
On Sunday evening, the electoral commission's website reported that 57% of Moldovans had voted “no” in the referendum on EU accession after 23% of the votes had been counted and only 42% had voted “yes”.
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This woman voted in Moldova’s election on Sunday, then asked a surprised election monitor where she gets paid. So I decided to ask what she’d been promised… The authorities believe Russia has been channeling-in money to buy votes: that Moscow has not ‘let go’ of #Moldova
https://x.com/sarahrainsford/status/1848306963647451616 Sarah Rainsford: BBC Eastern Europe Correspondent. This election was plagued by a large-scale Russian disinformation campaign against the EU and interference from a pro-Russian oligarch who paid people money to vote against it.
BBC finds evidence of vote-buying in Moldova