Chișinău (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Moldovan people will vote between pro-European incumbent Maia Sandu and pro-Russian candidate Alexandr Stoianoglo.
On 3 Nov 2024, Moldovan voters will pick their next president. During the first match on October 20th, Sandu led with 42% of the vote but failed to succeed an outright majority, while Stoianoglo, a Russia-friendly ex-prosecutor general, acquired 26%. Since no candidate obtained more than 50% of the votes, they confronted a runoff election considered as a choice between geopolitical opposites.
On the same day, the country conducted a national referendum, and Moldovans voted by a razor-thin plurality of 50.35% in favour of securing a route toward EU membership.
Will Russian influence shape Moldova’s election outcome?
After the two October elections, Moldovan authorities declared that a vote-buying scheme was staged by Ilan Shor, an exiled oligarch living in Russia. Shor was convicted in absentia in 2023 for fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors allege that approximately €35,8 million was channelled to over 130,000 voters through a Russian bank that is under international sanctions between September and October. Shor has rejected any involvement in wrongdoings.
Both elections exposed serious shortcomings in Moldova’s judiciary and grew doubts among pro-Moscow factions about the electoral legality. In Gagauzia, where EU backing was low, a doctor was apprehended for allegedly coercing elderly citizens to vote for a specific candidate, with police uncovering financial evidence connected to a sanctioned Russian bank. Anti-corruption measures have led to significant cash seizures and probes into electoral bribery involving multiple state employees.
What role did local corruption play in Moldova’s election?
As one of Europe’s most impoverished nations facing high inflation, experts note that many Moldovans might surrender to electoral corruption for small sums. Moldova experts caution that Moscow may concentrate its efforts on the upcoming 2025 parliamentary elections. With declining support for the ruling pro-Western Party of Action and Solidarity, there is apprehension that it may struggle to hold its majority in the 101-seat legislatures in these circumstances.
