More than 1.5 million people, or 51 percent of the electorate, cast ballots in the nationwide referendum — well above the one-third required to be considered valid.
In a simultaneous presidential election, Sandu, who is seeking a second term in office, topped the list of candidates with `37 percent of the vote and 90 percent of ballots counted. Her closest rival, pro-Kremlin Socialist Party politician Alexandr Stoianoglo, came second with 29 percent.
Having failed to secure an outright majority, Sandu now faces Stoianoglo in a second round — an embarrassing prospect for the incumbent, who had been expected to win by a large margin.
Speaking to POLITICO earlier this week, Moldova’s deputy prime minister and EU integration chief, Cristina Gherasimov, said the government viewed EU membership as “existential” given the threats from Moscow. “There is no plan B” to winning the referendum, she added.
Victory for Russia?
Moldova has undergone a rapid pivot towards the West in recent years, with the war in Ukraine raging just across the border. Officials warned that Russian intelligence had made active attempts to disrupt the EU membership referendum, as well as the simultaneous election in which President Maia Sandu sought a second term.
“We are seeing the classic hybrid toolbox Russia uses to influence elections, but the magnitude is really unprecedented,” Gherasimov said. “We see hybrid attacks on public institutions responsible for critical services like the post office and the airport. We see vote-buying. We see the use of local corrupt proxies and political parties — they’re given cash to destabilize the situation on the ground.”