According to the OSCE organization, the elections and referendum were organized well, the basic rights of citizens were generally respected and candidates were allowed to campaign freely.
Spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Marija Zakharova according to Moldova’s presidential elections and the EU referendum were dishonest.
Zaharova claims that the European Union and the United States interfered in the country’s elections. However, Zaharova did not provide any evidence for her claim.
Also the autocratic president of Russia Vladimir Putin administration spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that he was “surprised” by the increase in the number of supporters of EU membership.
– We see a mechanical, hard-to-explain rise as well Maia Sandun that in support of EU membership, Peskov said.
According to Peskov, the Moldovan elections were also dishonest. He claims that the opposition was denied the opportunity to campaign and that the authorities put pressure on opposition representatives.
– They were persecuted, they were thrown into cells, they were interrogated. They were not allowed into the country, the media were closed, sources of information on the internet were blocked, and so on.
Peskov also did not provide evidence for his claims.
Moldova voted on Sunday both in the presidential election and in the referendum on the amendment to the constitution, with which joining the EU would be enshrined in the country’s law as a national goal. The pro-EU position won the referendum with a narrow majority.
According to the election observers of the OSCE organization, the elections and the referendum were well organized, and the basic rights of citizens were generally respected. The candidates were allowed to campaign freely, the organization says.
EU: Russia applied pressure and intimidation to the elections in Moldova
According to the EU, Moldova’s EU referendum was subjected to unprecedented pressure and intimidation from Russia and its intermediaries.
At the beginning of October, the Moldovan police revealed a large Russian operation to influence the election. Russia is suspected of buying votes by sending money to up to 150,000 people in Moldova, where there are well over a million eligible voters.
Member of Parliament (green) and former foreign minister who was an observer in the Moldovan elections Pekka Haavisto said that there is evidence of vote buying in the EU referendum.
– People whose votes have been bought or sold have appeared in the news here, Haavisto says.
Russia has repeatedly denied that it interfered in Moldova’s elections.