Moldova’s vote on EU constitutional reform has stalled

Moldova’s referendum on changing its constitution and committing to joining the EU hangs in the balance, with No and Yes votes neck and neck.

With Yes on 49.9% and No on 50.1% – with 97% of the votes counted – it’s the result few expected, as most recent polls say a Yes vote will win comfortably.

Pro-EU incumbent president Maia Sandu previously blamed the narrow result as the result of foreign interference in Moldovan politics.

He said it was an “unprecedented attack on democracy”, referring to widespread allegations that Russia paid people to vote a certain way, which Moscow denies.

Along with the constitutional reform referendum, Moldovans also voted in the country’s presidential election on Sunday.

The votes were seen as important tests for the country, which is faced with a choice between moving forward with EU membership or maintaining close ties with Russia.

Sandu came out on top in the first round of elections but by a much lower margin than expected – 41% of the vote – and now faces a tough second round in early November where his opponents will rally against him.

He accused “gangs” of collaborating with “foreign forces” by using money, lies, and propaganda to avoid the vote.

Sandu also said that his government has “clear proof” that 300,000 votes were bought, which he called an “unprecedented fraud”.

The Kremlin has strongly denied involvement in vote-buying claims.

Moldova i is currently in negotiations with the EU for membership. The succession negotiations will continue despite Sunday’s result, as the referendum was not legally binding.

The vote, however, was supposed to make the process irreversible. Instead, it feels a little shaky now.

Because he failed to get more than half of the votes, Sandu and the runner-up, Aleksandr Stoianoglo, who is supported by the pro-Russian Party of Socialists, will enter a run-off on 3 November.

Stoianoglo won with 27%, a much higher result than expected.

Populist Renato Usatii came third, followed by former Gagauzia governor Irina Vlah.

If other candidates support Stoianoglo before the second round, Sandu may be in danger of not being re-elected.

At Sandu’s election headquarters on Sunday evening, the situation was very calm, with one of his advisers describing the result so far as “not what we expected”.

Sandu, who has developed close ties with Moldova’s EU neighbours, was campaigning for a Yes vote in the referendum. He had previously said that the vote would determine the future of Moldova “for many decades to come”.

While the initial results started flowing in showing that the No vote had done better than expected, Sandu’s team posted disappointing results in the first count from villages and rural areas.

The number of major cities reduced the lead of the No vote, but at 01:00 (22:00 GMT) few thought that the Yes camp would still have a chance.

Many of Sandu’s supporters left his headquarters in Chisinau where they had been hoping to celebrate his victory before the counting ended. The small EU flags they were given to wave were discarded, on chairs or spread on the floor.

Sandu’s adviser suggested that “it looks like whatever they planned may have worked,” referring to allegations of vote-buying, linked to Russia.

Voter turnout was over 51% when polls closed at 21:00 local time (18:00 GMT), making the referendum valid.

As the night wore on, the gap narrowed even further.

A number of presidential candidates boycotted the referendum. Aleksandr Stoianoglo said he does not support the idea of ​​changing the constitution – although he added that he supports his country’s “European ambitions”.

However, many young people who lined up at the polling stations on Sunday are said to support Moldova’s future as an EU member state, some saying they voted because they want to choose a European future for their country – because of the economy and the economy. for more opportunities.

Others say they are tired of being “pulled” into Moscow, decades after the Soviet Union collapsed and Moldova gained independence.

“We have to choose a European future for our country, for our children, for our future – for politics, for peace, that’s the most important thing,” a voter called Oksana told the BBC. “Because we are between Europe and Russia, and we have to choose what we want.”

At a polling station for residents of Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria – supported by Russia economically, politically and militarily – the BBC found evidence of vote-buying.

A BBC producer overheard a woman who had just cast her vote in a transparent box asking the election monitor where she would be paid.

Outside, we asked directly if he was given cash to vote and he agreed without hesitation. He was upset when he heard that the man who had sent him to the polling station was no longer answering his phone. “You tricked me!” he said.

He did not answer when asked who he voted for.

In September, Ilan Shor – a fugitive Moldovan businessman accused of bringing large sums of money into the country from Russia – offered money to convince “as many people as possible” to vote No or abstain from the EU referendum.

This week, Shor then made a video statement telling people to vote for “anyone but Sandu” in the presidential election.