Moldovans to elect president in crucial run-off marred by fraud claims – The Irish News

Moldovans cast their ballots in a crucial second round of presidential elections on Sunday, pitting pro-Western incumbent Maia Sandu against a Russia-friendly challenger.

In the first round, which took place on October 20, Ms. Sandu won 42% of the vote, but was unable to obtain an outright majority.

She will face Oleksandr Stoyanoglo, a former prosecutor general who topped the polls in the first round with nearly 26% of the vote.

The poll, published by research firm iData, points to a tight race that is tipped for Sandu’s narrow victory, an outcome that could hinge on Moldova’s large diaspora.

The office of president carries significant powers in areas such as foreign policy and national security, and has a four-year term.

The Moldovan diaspora played a key role in the national referendum, also held on October 20, when a slim majority of 50.35% voted to secure Moldova’s path to EU membership.

But the results of the vote, including Sunday’s vote, were marred by allegations of a large vote-buying scheme and voter intimidation.

Instead of receiving the overwhelming support that Ms. Sandu had hoped for, the results in both races showed that Moldova’s judiciary is unable to adequately protect the democratic process.

Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recan said on Friday that people across the country were receiving “anonymous death threats over phone calls” in what he called an “extraordinary attack” to scare voters in the former Soviet republic, which has a population of about 2 .5 million people. people

“These acts of intimidation have only one goal: to create panic and fear,” Rechan said in a statement posted on social media. “I assure you that state bodies will ensure order and protect citizens.”

After two votes in October, Moldovan law enforcement said the vote-buying scheme was orchestrated by Ilan Shor, an exiled oligarch living in Russia who was convicted in absentia last year of fraud and money laundering.

Mr Shore has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors say $39 million (£30 million) was paid to more than 130,000 recipients through an internationally sanctioned Russian bank between September and October.

Anti-corruption authorities carried out hundreds of raids and seized more than $2.7m (£2.08m) in cash during the crackdown.

In one case in Gagauzia, an autonomous part of Moldova where only 5% voted for the EU, a doctor was detained after allegedly forcing 25 residents of a nursing home to vote for a candidate they did not choose.

Police said they had obtained “compelling evidence”, including financial transfers from the same Russian bank.

On Saturday at a church in Komrat, the capital of Gagauzia, Father Vasiliy told The Associated Press that he was urging people to go and vote because it was a “civic duty” and that they were not naming any candidates.

“We use the benefits that the country offers us – light, gas,” he said.

“Whether we like what the government is doing or not, we have to go and vote. … The Church always prays for peace.”

On Thursday, prosecutors also raided the headquarters of a political party and said 12 people were suspected of paying voters to choose a candidate in the presidential race.

Criminal proceedings have also been opened against 40 employees of state bodies on suspicion of receiving election bribes.

Cristian Kantir, a Moldovan associate professor in the Department of International Affairs at Oakland University, told the AP that whatever the outcome of the second round, it “will not reduce” geopolitical tensions.

“On the contrary, I expect geopolitical polarization to be intensified by the campaign for the legislative elections in 2025,” he said.

Moldova’s law enforcement agencies need more resources and better trained staff who work faster to fight voter fraud, he added, to “create an environment where anyone who is tempted to buy or sell votes knows that they will have clear and swift consequences”.

A pro-Western government has been in power in Moldova since 2021, and parliamentary elections will be held in 2025.

Observers in Moldova warn that Moscow’s main goal may be next year’s vote.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moldova applied to join the EU. The sharp shift to the West irritated Moscow and significantly damaged relations with Chisinau.