'unprecedented' Sandu says assault on Moldova election

President Maia Sandu said Moldova faced an “unprecedented” assault on its presidential election and EU referendum yesterday and that criminal groups backed by foreign forces had tried to buy up to 300,000 votes to undermine the results.

- ALASTAIR JAMIESON

"We are waiting for the final results, and we will respond with firm decisions," she said in a written statement circulated by her team.

Early results, based on a fraction of the vote, showed 56 per cent of Moldovans voting "No" at the referendum on their EU aspirations and put incumbent Ms Sandu just a few percentage points ahead of her rival at the presidential election. The results given on the Central Election Commission's website were changing in real time, but could represent a major political setback for Ms Sandu's pro-Western government if they hold.

With 34 per cent of ballots counted, the election commission gave Ms Sandu 35 per cent of the vote, putting her only just ahead of Alexandr Stoianoglo, 57, a former prosecutor-general backed by the pro-Russian Party of Socialists, which it gave 29 per cent.

That result would pave the way to a potentially tight secondround run-off against Mr Stoianoglo. Though the results could still change as more ballots were counted, particularly among the country's large Western-based diaspora, they were a shock for Ms Sandu's team.

With the war in Ukraine raging to the east, the former Soviet republic has accelerated its push to escape Moscow's orbit and embarked on the long process of EU accession talks. Voters were asked to choose "Yes" or "No" in the referendum on whether to enshrine in the country's constitution its path towards joining the 27-nation EU.