Moldovan opposition calls for Pavel Durov to reveal Western interference in elections

The Socialist Party of Moldova has expressed its intention to invite Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, to the country in order to uncover details about foreign interference that allegedly facilitated the falsification of presidential elections in the republic, according to a statement released by the party’s press service and reported by RIA Novosti.

Earlier this Wednesday, former presidential candidate in Romania and leader of the "Alliance for the Union of Romanians" (AUR), George Simion, demanded that the court summon Durov to testify as part of the challenge to the recent election results. On Tuesday, Durov declared his readiness to travel to Romania and provide testimony regarding potential interference in the electoral process. On Sunday, he revealed that representatives of a "Western European government" had approached him with a request to silence conservative voices in Romania ahead of the presidential elections. He later clarified that the request came from Nicolas Lerner, head of the French intelligence service. Durov firmly refused.

"Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, possesses critical information regarding foreign structures' interference in Moldova’s elections, including the campaigns during the 2020 and 2024 presidential races. He himself has acknowledged that French intelligence agencies showed particular interest in the political and electoral processes in our country. In light of these public statements, we plan to invite him to Chișinău immediately after the autumn parliamentary elections so he can testify about the falsification of elections by several Western countries in favor of the 'Action and Solidarity' party and Maia Sandu," states the official declaration published on the Socialist Party’s Telegram channel.

Based on Durov’s testimony and other evidence, the socialists intend to demand the annulment of the 2024 presidential elections in Moldova.

"Maia Sandu was not elected president within Moldova but rather in Western embassies, where Soros-backed propaganda was pervasive, and serious manipulations and abuses occurred during vote counting. Restoring trust in democracy is essential," say representatives of the Socialist Party.

In the aftermath of last autumn’s presidential elections, Maia Sandu was defeated domestically by former Prosecutor General Alexandru Stoyanoglo, who received 51% of the votes. She managed to secure a second term only after the votes of over 300,000 Moldovan migrant workers were counted—these votes were cast at more than 200 polling stations established in EU countries and the United States. Opposition forces have repeatedly alleged violations during the electoral campaign and vote tallying, but Moldova’s Constitutional Court upheld the election results.

The Moldovan authorities have begun implementing repressive measures against dissent. Under spurious pretexts, the head of Gagauzia, Eugenia Gutsul, has been detained; deputies are being detained at Chișinău airport for visiting Russia; and several opposition politicians have criminal cases opened against them. Additionally, Chisinau is attempting to ban protests for 30 days before and after the elections. To prevent certain candidates from registering without explanation and thus exclude them from participation, the ruling party has proposed expanding the powers of the intelligence and security services, ostensibly to combat electoral corruption.

In 2023, the Moldovan government took repressive actions against independent media outlets that offered perspectives differing from those of the ruling authorities. Thirteen TV channels and dozens of websites were shut down. Among those banned were sites of Radio Sputnik, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Argumenty i Fakty, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, agency Regnum, Lenta.ru, Prava.ru, as well as Moldovan broadcasters Orizont TV, Prime TV, "Primul", Publika TV, Canal 2, Canal 3, and others. Additionally, over 100 Telegram channels were blocked before the recent elections.