Reuters: Russia plans to disrupt voting abroad in the second round of elections in Moldova

Author:
Oleksandra Opanasenko
Date:

Moldova has warned several European Union countries that Russia will try to prevent emigrants from voting at polling stations abroad during the second round of presidential elections.

This is reported by Reuters with reference to a source in the Moldovan government.

According to the publication, polling stations in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, Romania, the USA and Great Britain may become targets of Moscow to disrupt the elections — they may even set off explosions there.

"The aim is to interrupt the voting process during the evacuation (bomb threat) and police checks," Moldovaʼs appeal to the European official reads.

In the second round of the elections, two candidates are competing — the current president of Moldova Maia Sandu, who promotes the pro-European course of the country, and the former prosecutor general Oleksandr Stoianoglo, who is supported by pro-Russian opposition parties.

Moldovan voters living in Western countries are considered to be largely pro-European, so a majority is likely to support incumbent President Maia Sandu. Reuters notes that the vote of the diaspora was decisive for the victory of Sanduʼs team in the referendum on Moldovaʼs accession to the European Union.

Elections in Moldova

The current president of Moldova Maia Sandu won the first round of the presidential elections, which took place on October 20. 42.45% of voters voted for her, and 25.98% voted for her main competitor Oleksandr Stoyanoglo. Now Moldova is waiting for the second round of presidential elections — it will be held on November 3.

Simultaneously with the presidential elections, a referendum on the countryʼs future in the EU was held. In general, citizens supported European integration, but the advantage was minimal — 50.35% of Moldovans voted for the future in the European Union. There were only 11 277 more votes in favor — and that was thanks to the diaspora.

Russia is trying to influence this yearʼs elections in Moldova. Thus, the Vice Prime Minister of Moldova Khristina Gerasimova stated that Russia invested almost €100 million in attempts to disrupt the presidential elections and the referendum on joining the EU.

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