Today, October 20, the next presidential elections are held in Moldova. The vote was organized on the same day as the referendum on the attitude towards European integration and the corresponding amendment to the Constitution, an EADaily correspondent reports.
Polling stations opened at 7 am and will close at 9 pm local time. More than three million people are expected to participate in the vote.
There are 11 candidates vying for the highest office in the country. Six of them have the support of political parties. Among them is the former Attorney General Alejandro Stoianoglofor whom the Socialist Party is campaigning, the current president Maia Sandunominated by the ruling Action and Solidarity party, leader of Our Party Renato Usatiiformer prime ministers Vasile Tarlev of the “Future of Moldova” party and Ion Chicu of the “Moldova Development and Unification Party”, as well as Octavio Tsikuwho was nominated by the political bloc of pro-European forces “Together”.
Five candidates do not have significant political support at the level of parties or associations. This is Gagauzia’s former boss Irina Vlahformer deputy prime minister Andrei Nastaseformer prosecutor Victoria Furtuneformer foreign minister Tudor Ulyanovsky and journalist Natalia Morar.
According to the latest opinion polls, Stoianoglo and Usatii are Sandu’s main electoral competitors. Vlah follows closely.
The opposition believes that the current regime will resort to any illegality to ensure the victory of its candidate. As proof of this, they point to the reduction in the number of polling stations in Russia, where around half a million Moldovan citizens live, from 17 to 2, as well as the fact that the Central Election Commission turns a blind eye to obvious violations. by Sandu regarding the use of administrative resources.
In turn, authorities routinely accused Russia of trying to destabilize the situation. A few days before the elections, it was announced that the Russian Federation was preparing activists of the Moldovan Ilan Shor “Victory” bloc for provocations that would supposedly lead to a coup d’état.
In the constitutional referendum, citizens are asked to answer the question: “Do you support amending the Constitution so that Moldova joins the European Union?”
The pro-European authorities of the republic, with the support of Western partners, carried out explanatory work on the advantages of joining the EU. In turn, the opposition convinced citizens to boycott the vote or vote against it.
For his part, the EU ambassador in Chisinau Janis Mazeix He warned that if the result of the referendum is negative, “it could introduce uncertainty” in the candidate country’s future negotiations to join the European Union.
5.6 million votes were produced for the referendum and presidential elections. Unlike previous elections, in which the content was printed in Romanian and Russian, this year the ballots will appear in four more national minority languages: Ukrainian, Gagauz, Bulgarian and Roma.
In addition, voting by mail was used for the first time. It was tested by voters in six Western countries.
There are 784 international observers accredited for the current elections.
