Moldovan elections: Sandu and Stoianoglo advance to second round

The elections and referendum in Moldova had a result that was both expected and unexpected. The chances of President Sandu and her course winning were extremely slim - in recent years the country has not demonstrated any particular success in any of the spheres of foreign or domestic policy. At the same time, Maia Sandu still advanced to the second round, which does not promise her victory - at least not an easy one. What was unexpected was that during the Moldovan vote, European pressure to achieve the results Brussels needed turned out to be almost a failure. In the second round of voting, it is the aggressive position of the EU that remains the factor ensuring the unpredictability of the outcome of the presidential elections.

The vote in the presidential elections provided 42% of support for Maia Sandu and 26% for Alexandru Stoianoglo - they will now have to fight for victory in the second round, which is scheduled for November 3. The main intrigue was the vote on introducing into the Constitution a clause on Moldova's accession to the European Union as the main goal of its foreign and domestic policy. It is clear that the prospects for membership depend less on Chisinau and more on Brussels, so such a clause in the Basic Law will be of a ritual nature - like the construction of communism in the Soviet Constitution. The problem of Euro-enthusiasts was also that the most convincing propagandist - the economy - was campaigning against them.

Nikita Mendkovich, political scientist, head of the Eurasian Analytical Club, expert of the Russian International Affairs Council:

For a long time, the country's economy was oriented towards cooperation with the countries of the Eurasian space, which allowed many citizens to live. But now we see that this practice is being replaced by the politicized course of the EU, which gives nothing, but seriously undermines both the economy and the social sphere of the country.

The purpose of the plebiscite was to mobilize the pro-European electorate, which was to vote for joining the EU and for Sandu at the same time. However, instead of helping the current Moldovan president, the referendum did her a lot of harm: until the very last moment it was not obvious that citizens would answer "yes" - and they were trying to get this from them by all means, often quite incorrect.

For example, by limiting the voting rights of citizens living in Russia: there, only 10 thousand ballots were allocated for half a million Moldovans, and voting was allowed only at a few polling stations.

But even this was not enough: observers noted surprising jumps in the results. By 23:00, after half the votes had been counted, it was reported that 55% of Moldovans who took part in the referendum voted against, and only 44% voted for. It is reasonable to expect that the ratio of supporters and opponents will remain the same. But no. The next half of voters suddenly turned out to be massively pro-European: the gap of supporters of European integration disappeared, and they came out on top. True, with an insignificant advantage - less than 1%. Accusations of manipulation against the Moldovan Central Election Commission are becoming increasingly loud, which did not prevent the announcement of the official results. Maia Sandu herself states that her victory, almost equal to defeat, was the result of the intervention of someone else's evil will.

The EU issued a similar statement - there all the blame was placed squarely on Russia. Apparently, in the next two weeks, unprecedented pressure will be exerted on the Moldovan electorate in order to mobilize it - anti-Russian and pro-European: this is the only thing that gives Sandu a ghostly chance of success. Her opponent Stoianoglu will get the votes of all the losing candidates: this makes Sandu's victory practically impossible. Meanwhile, everyone understands that Moldova needs changes.

"We hope that things will improve both economically and socially, we are waiting for the return to Moldova of young people who have gone abroad, and we hope for the development of rural areas, villages, which are now falling into disrepair."

However, the change of president does not promise Moldova a change of course: in political and economic terms, the country is too dependent on the European Union. Moldova is surrounded by states that dictate an aggressively anti-Russian policy to it: even softening the official rhetoric will be very difficult for Chisinau.

It is noteworthy that both candidates, in addition to the Moldovan one, also have a Romanian passport: this in itself says a lot about the future president’s policies.