Russia summoned the ambassador of Moldova — it complains about the “discrimination” of its election observers

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia summoned the Ambassador of Moldova Lilian Dariy and expressed a "strong protest" to him due to Chisinauʼs allegedly unfriendly and discriminatory actions towards Russian election observers.

This is stated in the message of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The Russian agency stated that before the first round of voting and the constitutional referendum on joining the EU, which took place on October 20, the Moldovan authorities "without motivation" refused accreditation to five international observers from Russia.

And before the second round, which took place on November 3, three Russian members of the BDIHR OSCE mission were refused entry to Moldova at Chisinau airport.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia considers such actions "gross violation by Chisinau of its international obligations."

And the day before, on November 6, Vladimir Putinʼs press secretary Dmytro Peskov said that Maia Sandu, who won the election, "is not the president of her country." He explained his words by the fact that the majority of Moldovan citizens did not vote for her.

The press secretary of the Moldovan government Daniel Voda responded to these statements. He brought a mirror to a press conference with journalists and, commenting on the Kremlinʼs statements, suggested that the Russian authorities look at themselves in the mirror.

"For many years, Russia actively intervened and directed resources to disinformation and manipulation of public opinion in Moldova. Such statements are hypocritical and are an attempt to destabilize democracy in our country in front of the whole world," Voda said.

Elections in Moldova

Incumbent president Maia Sandu won 55.33% of the votes in the presidential elections. Her rival, former Prosecutor General Oleksandr Stoianoglo, who is supported by pro-Russian opposition parties, has 44.67%. The advantage of Sandu over Stojanoglo is 180 000 votes.

Simultaneously with the presidential elections, a referendum was held on the countryʼs future in the EU. In general, citizens supported European integration, but the advantage was minimal — 50.35%. There were only 11 277 more votes in favor thanks to the diaspora. After that, the country enshrined its desire to join the EU in the Constitution.

Chisinau aims to join the EU by 2030. The country is counting on the support of the West in the fight against Russian interference. Moldovaʼs goal to become part of the bloc by the end of the decade is quite ambitious. The country will have to overcome many challenges, including corruption in the judicial system.

During the second round of presidential elections on November 3, Moldova warned EU countries that Russia would try to prevent emigrants from voting at polling stations abroad. Later, Kishinev began to investigate the organized transport of voters to polling stations in the country and abroad.

A pro-Russian politician already headed the state in 2016. Itʼs about Ihor Dodon, who won the second round of the elections with the support of 52% of citizens. Maia Sandu then scored 4% less. In January 2018, the Constitutional Court of Moldova temporarily suspended the powers of the president due to the refusal to approve the government.

In 2020, Sandu managed to take revenge with almost 58% of the vote. In May 2022, the General Prosecutorʼs Office of Moldova opened a criminal case against Dodon on suspicion of corruption.

After February 24, 2022, the politician declared that "all parties are to blame for the conflict." When asked who owns Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Kherson regions, the ex-president answered that "after the results of the peace talks, it will be clear where the war will stop.”

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