Moldova's pro-EU President Sandu declares reelection victory

Moldovan President Maia Sandu declared victory in a crucial election on Sunday, a win that would bolster her ambition to steer the former Soviet republic into the European Union by the end of the decade.

The ex-World Bank official’s reelection bid was a test of the resilience of pro-EU sentiment in Europe’s eastern periphery. A string of recent ballots laid bare gains in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to halt a turn to the West.

“We proved that united we can defeat those who wanted to bring us to our knees,” Sandu told reporters early Monday in Chisinau.

Sandu secured 54% of the vote with almost 98% of polling stations tallied in a preliminary count, the Central Electoral Commission. She led Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former top prosecutor who pledged to maintain strong ties with the Kremlin. The count included only a fraction of votes from Moldovans abroad, who have a track record for supporting Sandu in much higher numbers.

Sandu, 52, has vowed to press ahead with Moldova’s EU aims even as she confronts a fragmented public and fierce resistance from Russia, whom she’s accused of meddling in the country’s democratic process. Authorities on Sunday cited “massive interference” from Moscow intended to disrupt the ballot.

Voters two weeks ago approved the country’s EU bid in a referendum by a slim margin, defying polls that showed a consistent majority in favor. Less than a week later, Georgia’s Moscow-aligned ruling party declared victory in a parliamentary vote, triggering condemnation from the opposition, who said the vote was rigged.

Meddling charges

Sandu’s national security adviser, Stanislav Secrieru, cited reports of transporting voters, bomb threats at polling stations abroad and record turnout in the breakaway region of Transnistria as factors that were aimed at steering the result.

“We’re seeing massive interference by Russia in our electoral process as Moldovans vote in the presidential runoff today — an effort with high potential to distort the outcome,” Secrieru said in a post on social media platform X.

In response to Sandu’s position, Stoianoglo struck a more cautious tone than previous pro-Russian leaders in Moldova, advocating ties with “all partners,” including Russia, the EU, the U.S. and China. He insisted that he didn’t oppose EU integration, but dismissed last month’s referendum as a political ploy by Sandu.

In the hours after polls closed, the candidate called for calm regardless of the result, asking the diplomatic corps to be careful in analyzing election tallies, because “Moldova needs peace and not useless conflicts.”

“Sandu’s reelection looked like a tight bet after the first round, but the president managed to regain energy and enthusiasm — and mobilize, including voters from other camps,” said Radu Magdin, a political analyst and head of Smartlink Communications.

After Moldova’s vote two weeks ago, in which Sandu secured a first-round victory, the president denounced Russian tampering, citing accusations that some 150,000 voters had been paid off. She called it “fraud of unprecedented scale.” The Kremlin has denied any meddling.

One of Europe’s poorest nations, Moldova began EU accession talks this year after securing candidacy status alongside Ukraine in 2022. Sandu’s government has pledged to overhaul the nation’s justice system and bolster the economy to become a member by 2030.

But Russia, which has dominated Moldova’s energy resources and political system in the more than three decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, has sought to thwart the country’s Western path. With the U.S. and EU accusing Moscow of meddling in the elections, the chief Moldovan negotiator with the EU last month said Moscow had pumped some €100 million ($109 million) trying to disrupt the votes.

A Harvard-educated economist, Sandu took office in 2020 on a campaign for European integration. She’ll become the country’s first head of state to be elected to a second term in a popular vote. Vladimir Voronin secured a second term in 2005, though under a previous system in which the president was elected by parliament.

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