An investigation by the Moldovan police that is still ongoing has already revealed that over 400 Moldovans received money in exchange for votes in the presidential elections and Sunday’s referendum.
Moldova held presidential elections on Sunday, with incumbent President Maia Sandu narrowly winning the first round, setting up a run-off on 3 November against former prosecutor general Aleksandr Stoianolgo. Moldovans also voted in an EU referendum on Sunday, with a narrow 50.32% in favour of joining the EU – meaning the country’s constitutional court can now enshrine the goal of joining the EU in the constitution.
The pro-European forces had fought and won the elections”fairly” despite it being an “unfair battle”, Sandu told a press conference on Monday.
“Criminals determined to regain power at any cost” had aimed to buy 300,000 votes, she said – a claim currently under investigation by state authorities.
As part of the ongoing police investigation, police said on Tuesday that most involved were cooperating and providing information that could be used as evidence.
Sandu also noted that if the justice system had functioned properly in recent years, those involved in vote-buying would already have been punished.
Earlier this month, law enforcement agencies reported that around $14 million was transferred from Russia in September to influence voters to reject the referendum on EU membership, with suspects having allegedly inustrctions via Telegram, Agora. md reported.
On 3 October, Viorel Cernăuțeanu, head of the General Inspectorate of Police, said that funds from Sberbank – a Russian bank under international sanctions – had been transferred to accounts in Moldova.
He added that the suspects were linked to Ilan Shor, a politician and businessman currently in Moscow after being convicted of corruption in Moldova.
In October, six members of a political party linked to Shor were placed under criminal investigation for electoral corruption. They were accused of offering bribes to voters in exchange for supporting a particular candidate in the presidential election on 20 October.
The referendum on constitutional change and EU membership was narrowly won after a hard-fought campaign in which Russia made significant efforts to influence the outcome.
(Catalina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)