(20 Oct 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chisinau – 21 October 2024
1. Moldova President Maia Sandu arrives to give statement
2. Camera operator
3. SOUNDBITE (Romanian) Maia Sandu, President of Moldova:
“Criminal groups, working together with foreign forces hostile to our national interests, have attacked our country with tens of millions of euros, lies and propaganda, using the most disgraceful means to keep our citizens and our nation trapped in uncertainty and instability. We have clear evidence that these criminal groups aimed to buy 300,000 votes – a fraud of unprecedented scale. Their objective was to undermine a democratic process. Their intention was to spread fear and panic in the society. We will not back down from defending democracy and freedom. We are waiting for the final results, and we will respond with decisions.”
4. Sandu leaves news conference
STORYLINE:
Moldova’s pro-Western president early Monday looked set to win the first round of a presidential race but accused “criminal groups” of undermining a referendum asking voters to decide whether to secure a path toward European Union membership, which risked being narrowly rejected.
Nearly 95% of votes were counted in the EU referendum that asks voters to choose whether to enshrine in the country’s constitution a path toward the EU. About 52% of a total 1.2 million ballots voted “no,” while 47% voted “Yes.”
However, ballots cast among the country’s large diaspora were still being tallied and tended to favor the EU path.
“Criminal groups, working together with foreign forces hostile to our national interests, have attacked our country with tens of millions of euros, lies and propaganda, using the most disgraceful means to keep our citizens and our nation trapped in uncertainty and instability,” said President Maia Sandu after about 90% of the votes had been counted.
“We have clear evidence that these criminal groups aimed to buy 300,000 votes — a fraud of unprecedented scale,” Sandu added. “Their objective was to undermine a democratic process.”
The two pivotal ballots were held amid ongoing claims by Moldovan authorities that Moscow has intensified an alleged “hybrid war” campaign to destabilize the country and derail its EU path. The allegations include funding pro-Moscow opposition groups, spreading disinformation, meddling in local elections and backing a major vote-buying scheme.
In the presidential race of 11 candidates, Sandu looked set to win the first round with 39% of the vote but was unlikely to win an outright majority. She will likely face Alexandr Stoianoglo, a Russia-friendly former prosecutor general who outperformed polls with around 28% of the vote, in a run-off on Nov. 3.
After polls closed at 9 p.m. local time, more than 1.5 million voters — about 51% of eligible voters — had cast ballots, according to the Central Electoral Commission.
Cristian Cantir, a Moldovan associate professor of international relations at Oakland University, told The Associated Press that votes from the diaspora could prove crucial at this late stage.
“If I were a pro-EU politician … that’s where I’d look for signs of good news,” he said. “I think the ideal scenario for them would have been to have something that showed overwhelming support for the EU — and that simply did not happen.”
U.S. national security spokesman John Kirby echoed Russian interference concerns this week, saying in a statement that “Russia is working actively to undermine Moldova’s election and its European integration.” Moscow has repeatedly denied it is interfering in Moldova.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/5b6553d994534af784abfc108a6d358b
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in October 26, 2024, 12:04 am.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
