Moldovans to decide on EU membership and elect new president in twin polls on Sunday
- 18 October, 13:40
Moldovans will go to polls on Sunday for a referendum on EU accession and presidential election. The referendum will decide whether the goal to access the EU should be enshrined in Moldova’s constitution. The yes vote would ensure that subsequent leaders will not veer from the EU path, thereby consolidating Moldova’s status as a pro-Western country.
According to a voted conducted in September, over 63% of voters would back the Yes campaign.
Another election to be held on the same day will decide Moldova’s next president. During the crucial poll, the country’s incumbent pro-EU president Maia Sandu will face off against Alexander Stoianoglo, the former prosecutor general who announced his surprise candidacy for president back in July. Stoianoglo is backed by a pro-Russian Party of Socialists chaired by ex-president and popular opposition figure Igor Dodon.
Sandu, 52, the founder of the liberal Party of Action and Solidarity, came to power in 2020 and has been pushing for her country’s integration to the European Union. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moldova has drawn closer to the West and distanced itself from the Kremlin. Bordering Ukraine, the country is believed to be next in line for Russia’s invasion. The country has Russian-backed Transnistria breakaway region that claimed independence in 1990 with Kremlin’s support and hosts about 1,500 Russian troops.
Prior to the war in Ukraine, Moldova depended on Russian gas and electricity most of which was supplied from a thermal power station in its Transnistria region. Deterioration of ties with Russia has inflicted heavy toll on Moldova’s economy, causing price hikes and shortage of electricity and gas supplies. Sandu announced diversification of Moldova’s gas imports last year and stated that Moscow could no loner “blackmail” her country “as it used to”. Chisinau has also accused Kremlin of interfering into Moldova’s domestic affairs, with Sandu accused Russia of plotting to overthrow Moldova’s pro-EU government through planned opposition protests in February last year.
