Moldova rebuffs Russia with re-election of pro-Western leader

President wins 55% of the vote despite Russian tactics that shocked Western govts

- Jonathan Eyal

BRUSSELS - Russia's attempts to maintain a sphere of influence in Europe have suffered a setback after voters in Moldova, a small former Soviet republic bordering Ukraine, re-elected their pro-Western president for a second term despite a massive Russian effort to influence the ballot's outcome.

With all the votes in Moldova's Nov 3 elections now counted, Ms Maia Sandu, the 52-year-old Western-educated economist who is a strong supporter of her country's membership in the European Union, won 55 per cent of the votes cast.

She decisively beat Mr Alexandr Stoianoglo, a 57-year-old former prosecutor supported by the pro-Russian Socialists, who attracted the remaining 45 per cent of the ballots.

Addressing her supporters gathered in the capital Chisinau as the final results were announced in the early hours of Nov 4, President Sandu struggled to control her emotions. "Today, you have saved Moldova," she told jubilant supporters.

Fellow European leaders are making no secret of their belief that Ms Sandu's triumph is a rebuff of Russian efforts to meddle in elections.

French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Ms Sandu on her "triumph over all interference and all manoeuvres".

And so did EU officials. "It takes a rare strength to overcome the challenges you faced during this election," Dr Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the EU's executive, wrote on social media platform X.

However, although Ms Sandu's victory is undoubtedly significant, it is much more precarious than it first appears.

The resources Russia devoted to bring about her defeat, and the number of pro-Russian forces Moscow mobilised against her, shocked most Western governments.

Nor are all such Russian efforts doomed to failure. In Georgia, another former Soviet republic, pro-Russian politicians have just returned to power due to similar tactics.