(MENAFN- AzerNews)
By Farman Aydin, AzerNEWS
The referendum on Moldova's accession to the EU was finally
declared valid. At the beginning of the elections, pro-Russian
voters dominated the ballots, but later the percentage of
pro-European voters began to increase.
Even responding to the results, Moldova's pro-EU president, Maia
Sandu, accused several groups of engaging in voting fraud.
"Moldova has faced an unprecedented assault on our country's
freedom and democracy, both today and in recent months," Sandu told
supporters in the capital, Chisinau.
She said that these groups backed by foreign forces had tried to
"undermine democratic process" by trying to to buy up to 300,000
votes.
"We are waiting for the final results, and we will respond with
firm decisions," she said in a separate written statement as
mentioned in the Deutsche Welle.
Sandu's possible victory and the future fate of
Moldova
Although Moldova is a post-Soviet place, the political structure
here is different from Georgia and other CIS countries. The
inability of the Russian-leaning political elite to penetrate
widely among the people makes it difficult for them to win a
majority in the elections.
For example, the prevention of a fraud attempt ahead of Sunday's
elections indicates that some kind of Western control is strong in
the country. It should be recalled that in May, US State Department
Secretary Antony Blinken had a visit in the country before EU
officials' intensive meetings with Sandu just a month to the
elections. These meetings made a summary of the overall situation
in Moldova and gave a chance to forecast a general result in the
White House.
The West already understood the situation regarding Georgia. For
this reason, the US State Department tried to focus more on
Moldova. Because Moldova is considered the final stronghold of the
West against Russia among the post-Soviet countries. Unlike
Ukraine, Moldova is slightly outside the borders of Russia, and its
integration into EU seems geostrategically possible despite
concentration of Russian military contingent in the country's
territory.
But experts think even after Maia Sandu's possible victory, the
country's stability is still questionable given Russia's concern
about the rise of Western dominance.
Her narrow lead in the presidential
elections
Despite Moldova's strong ties with the West, Sandu's fragile
electoral lead brought her closer to the next round. More than 90%
of the ballots showed Sandu ahead of her other opponents with an
11% majority. Her pro-Russian rival, Alexandr Stoianoglo, won 28%
of the vote, slightly narrowing Sandu's chances of becoming
president.
Currently, President Maia Sandu is competing in the elections
against ten opponents and her strongest opponent is the former
prosecutor supported by the pro-Russian Socialists, 57-year-old
Stoianoglo.
Despite all this, Maia Sandu shines as the successful candidate
to lead her country to the European Union.
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