EU claims unprecedented Russian interference in Moldova elections

Peter Stano, spokesman for the European Union’s foreign policy service, said the first round of Moldova’s presidential elections took place against a backdrop of unprecedented Russian interference. His remarks were made during a briefing in Brussels on October 20.

Although the EU has not officially commented on the results of the elections and referendum, Stano highlighted the difficult conditions in which the vote took place. He stressed that the elections and the referendum were closely monitored by the EU.

“We recognize that this vote took place under conditions of unprecedented interference and intimidation by Russia and its proxies, who attempted to destabilize the democratic process in Moldova,” Stano said.

Stano further clarified that these subversive actions did not begin weeks or months ago, but were underway well before October 20. The EU is currently awaiting the official announcement of the election and referendum results, as well as statements from monitoring missions. “After that, we will publish our formal response,” he added.

On October 20, 2024, Moldova held a national referendum on EU membership. Preliminary presidential election results indicate that incumbent President Maia Sandu and former Attorney General Alexandru Stoianoglo have emerged as the leading candidates.

In another statement, Stano reiterated that the elections took place under serious external interference and intimidation, aimed at undermining democratic processes in the Republic of Moldova. The EU awaits the announcement of the final official results of the vote and election observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Stano emphasized that Russia’s external interference and information manipulation against Moldova took many forms, starting well before election day. He pointed to vote-buying attempts, corroborated by Moldovan government data, and the pre-election dissemination of Russian propaganda in the country.

In response to these subversive activities, the EU launched a targeted partnership mission with Moldova a year and a half ago, aimed at strengthening the country’s resilience against external interference and manipulation of information.

The Moldovan elections took place alongside a constitutional referendum regarding the country’s European integration.

In the referendum, with 98.7% of ballots counted, 50.24% voted in favor of including a European orientation in the Moldovan Constitution, while 49.76% opposed it.

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