Keeping a good face with a bad game This is the line followed by Maia Sandu, pro-European president and candidate for reelection in Moldova, after the announcement of the first results of the first round of the presidential elections, on Sunday, October 20. , late at night. The results are disappointing for the pro-European camp, while a victory seems within reach for supporters of a rapprochement with Moscow, which ruled Moldova during the Soviet era.
Maia Sandu believed she could achieve broad consensus and strong participation by organizing a same-day referendum on European Union (EU) membership for her country of 2.6 million people. On Monday morning, after more than 99% of the votes were counted, the yes vote was slightly ahead with 50.39% of the votes on the question: “Are you in favor of amending the Constitution with a view to the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union? ». The Kremlin immediately denounced “abnormalities” in the vote count.
“Moldova has faced an unprecedented attack on our country’s freedom and democracy, today and in recent months”said m.me Sandu at a press conference. This was delayed for several hours, because the partial results, initially disastrous for the Yes supporters, were improving as those from the capital and the diaspora (quite favorable to Maia Sandu) joined the rural vote, mostly hostile towards him.
However, the outgoing president, 52, obtained a clear advantage in the first round of the presidential elections, with 42.31% of the votes. On November 3, he will face Alexandru Stoianoglo in the second round, a 57-year-old former prosecutor supported by the pro-Russian socialists, who obtains a score almost three times higher than that announced by the polls, with 26.09% of the votes. vote.
“Sowing fear and panic”
“Maia Sandu aspired to a result of 45%, her followers even expected re-election in the first round. His problem is that he does not have reserved votes for the second round, unlike his rival Stoianoglo. The pro-Russian camp will ally against it, with the votes of the “detachment””underlines Ion Tabarta, political analyst and executive director of the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Chisinau.
The outgoing candidate tried to explain these disappointing results by the action of “Criminal groups that act in concert with foreign forces hostile to our national interests”a clear allusion to Russia, which Chisinau accuses of illegally financing the opposition. According to Maia Sandu, these criminal groups have “They attacked our country with tens of millions of euros, lies and propaganda. We have clear evidence that these criminal groups intended to buy 300,000 votes. Their goal was to undermine the democratic process. “His intention was to sow fear and panic in society.”.
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