Pro-Russian forces are believed to have bribed more than 100,000 voters in a massive operation to influence Moldova’s upcoming presidential elections. This was an attempt to undermine the former Soviet republic’s rapprochement with the European Union, police in Chisinau said on Thursday.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who is running again, has also turned the October 20 elections into a vote on the country’s future direction. Police chief Viorel Cernautanu said a Russian-controlled network bribed more than 130,000 Moldovans to vote against an EU referendum and elect pro-Russian candidates. He called this an “unprecedented, direct attack.”
Sandu wants to lead her country, a former Soviet republic located between Romania and Ukraine, into the European Union. In parallel with the presidential elections, Moldovans must vote on whether the poor country should become a member of the EU.
Sandu, who is seeking a second term, has long accused Russia of trying to overthrow his government using disinformation and other means. The government in Moscow rejects this.
Huge flows of money came to light
“We are facing the widespread phenomenon of financing and corruption aimed at disrupting the electoral process in Moldova,” Cernautanu told reporters. In September alone, approximately $15 million (13.55 million euros) was transferred to accounts opened at Russia’s Promsvyazbank.
Moldova, which has a Romanian-speaking majority and a large Russian-speaking minority, has had alternating pro-Russian and pro-Western governments since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Call for election manipulation
Fugitive pro-Russian businessman Ilan Shor last month offered payments to anyone who voted against European integration in the referendum. Moldova’s outspoken opponent of EU membership was convicted in absentia last year for his role in the theft of $1 billion from Moldovan banks.
About three million people in Moldova are eligible to vote. The Moldovan province of Transnistria is dominated by pro-Russian separatists and Russian troops are also stationed there.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
