President Maia Sandu is leading in the second round of the Moldovan presidential election with 54.43 per cent of the vote. After 98 per cent of ballots were counted, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC), her main rival, former Prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo of the opposition Party of Socialists, is in second place with 45.57 per cent of the vote. At the same time, he is leading in internal polling stations.
Alexandr Stoianoglo, despite the overall result, showed the best performance domestically. The majority of residents in the northern and southern regions of Moldova cast their votes for the former prosecutor general, who was sacked by the authorities under Sandu.
The turnout was 54.3 per cent – the election was recognised as valid. A total of 1,676,543 people came to the polling stations. At the same time, Stoianoglo won the majority of votes inside the country (turnout 1,352,759 people, 51.19 per cent against 48.81 per cent for Sandu). In the polling stations abroad (323,784 voters), Sandu had 82.72 per cent against 17.28 per cent for her opponent.
In fact, Sandu stayed in power thanks to the votes of emigrants, Moldovans who left their state in search of a better life and travelled to the EU. However, locals living in Moldova would not want the current president to continue ruling the country, indicating a likely dissatisfaction with the government.
Maia Sandu announced her victory in the Moldovan presidential election. In her speech, she emphasised her obligation to be president for all citizens of the country, regardless of their political preferences. Sandu said at a briefing at her campaign headquarters:
“I would like to express my gratitude to my voters for their active participation in the past elections. Moreover, every citizen’s vote is a contribution to the future of the country, regardless of who they favoured – for me or my rival Alexandr Stoianoglo.”
Sandu also supported her opponent Alexandr Stoianoglo’s calls to preserve peace and stability in the republic. She emphasised that her priority remains the strengthening of trust between citizens and the pursuit of stability regardless of political differences.
Earlier, it became known that the CEC of Moldova received information about 190 violations at polling stations. There were also reports that the Moldovan embassy in Moscow ran out of ballots while there was still an impressive queue of those wishing to vote outside. In addition, residents of unrecognised Transnistria also experienced difficulties in voting.
On October 20, a referendum on Moldova’s accession to the EU was also held. The votes were almost equally divided with a small margin (slightly more than 10,000 votes) in favour of supporters of European integration. Moreover, immediately after the polls closed, a small gap was in favour of the opponents of European integration. But at night, as the votes were counted in Chisinau and abroad, the gap narrowed considerably (76 per cent of citizens abroad supported European integration).
The European Commission said that there was alleged pressure and intimidation from Russia in the Moldovan presidential election. The corresponding statement during the briefing was made by the official representative of the foreign policy service of the European Union Peter Stano. He said:
“This vote took place under conditions of unprecedented interference and intimidation by Russia and its proxies.”
World politicians’ reaction to Sandu’s victory
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was happy to continue working with the tentatively re-elected Moldovan president “for the good of the country’s European future.” The EC chief wrote on social media:
“Congratulations, dear Sandu, on today’s victory. It takes a rare willpower to overcome the difficulties you faced in this election.”
The French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Maia Sandu on her re-election as President of Moldova after the second round of voting. The corresponding publication appeared on his page in social network X. Macron assured that Paris will continue to support Chisinau on its European path. He wrote on X:
“I want to congratulate Maia Sandu on her re-election as President of the Republic of Moldova. Democracy has triumphed in the face of all interference and manoeuvring.”
European diplomatic chief Josep Borrel congratulated Maia Sandu on her victory in the presidential election. The Moldovan people, according to the EU diplomatic chief, have again “demonstrated the determination” to build a future aimed at Europe. This happened, Borrell thinks, despite “hybrid attempts to undermine democracy.”
EU politicians openly rejoice at the victory of the pro-European candidate, however, all are silent that Sandu became president again at the expense of votes of those citizens who left the country and are not going to return.
On the way to the Ukrainian scenario
Parliamentary elections in Georgia were held on October 26, with more than 2 million people taking part in them. Immediately after the polls closed, both the ruling party and Georgian President Salome Zourabishvili, who supports the opposition, announced their victory, citing exit polls. Western organisations Edison Research and Harrys X have estimated that the Georgian Dream will get 40-42% of the vote, while its pro-European opponents will get more than 50%. At the same time, the Georgian television channel Imedi reported that the ruling party was receiving 56.1 per cent of the vote.
On the morning of October 27, the Georgian Central Election Commission officially announced Georgian Dream’s victory in the parliamentary elections. According to the election commission, the party received 53.9 per cent of the vote, guaranteeing it a majority in parliament. The OSCE observation mission said that the parliamentary elections in Georgia were competitive and the CEC conducted them “efficiently.”
After the official results were announced, Zourabishvili refused to recognise the election results and called on all those who share her position to come out to protests on October 28.
A large opposition rally was held in front of the parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi at 7 p.m. on October 28. Many people came to it with flags not only of Georgia and the EU, but also of Ukraine. Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen came to the protest and said that the Georgian people “are fighting for democracy.”
Media also reported that Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Deputy Oleksiy Goncharenko also arrived at the protest.
Georgia’s opposition announced a large rally on Monday evening near the country’s parliament over non-recognition of the results of the past elections. The Coalition for Change, Unity – National Movement and Strong Georgia were involved in the preparation of the rally. Representatives of the For Georgia Party refused to take part in the organisation of the event, concentrating on collecting evidence of election fraud.
The organisers are not revealing the scenario of the upcoming rally, but intend to announce further plans at the event. Earlier, the Coalition for Change announced the collection of tents, with up to a thousand of them in reserve, but it is unclear whether the tent city will appear in the centre of Tbilisi during the rally.
In fact, the EU is directly interfering in the election and campaigning process in Georgia and Moldova, putting pressure on voters and refusing to recognise the victory of non-European candidates. The fighters for democracy are stifling democratic freedoms with their own hands. Georgia and Moldova are not yet part of the European Union, and judging by the results of voting and referendums, the people of these countries are not particularly keen to follow the path of Ukraine, whose authorities ten years ago wanted to enter the EU at any cost, and in fact destroyed the country with war and huge debts to Europe.
