EU: Voting in Moldova was held with ‘unprecedented interference’ by Russia

The EU has not yet issued an official statement on the outcomes of Moldova’s referendum and first round of elections, but it does recall the circumstances surrounding the election campaign.

Peter Stano, a spokesperson for the EU External Action Service, made this statement during a briefing in Brussels.

He stated that the EU had closely monitored both the referendum and the presidential elections in Moldova.

“This vote took place under unprecedented interference and intimidation by Russia and its proxies, aiming to destabilize the democratic processes in the Republic of Moldova,” Peter Stano, the EU spokesperson, said. He further stated that Russia and its proxies had engaged in efforts to buy votes and spread extensive propaganda.

Peter Stano highlighted that the efforts to undermine the vote began months, not weeks, before October 20.

Stano noted that the EU is awaiting the final announcement of the official results of both votes as well as the observation missions’ statements. “After that, we will issue our official reaction,” the spokesman said.

According to European Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer, the EU continues to strongly support Moldova’s bid to join the EU.

A very slim majority (50.17%) voted yes in the referendum to insert a clause in the Moldovan constitution that would define EU membership as a goal.

Data from the Moldovan Central Election Commission, after counting 99.46% of the votes, confirmed Moldovan citizens’ positive response to the constitutional referendum on EU accession—but by a narrow margin.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu believes that Moldova’s elections and referendum were not conducted fairly. Sandu believes that the authorities have evidence of widespread vote-buying.

Moldovan journalists infiltrated the Kremlin’s network in Moldova and investigated its influence campaigns. Moldova’s main TV channels aired a journalistic investigation into how the populist and pro-Russian party Shor bribes citizens for money from Moscow and incites voters to oppose EU integration in the upcoming referendum.

Russia denies the allegations of meddling. The Kremlin labeled Moldova’s votes as “unfree” on Monday.

In our research, we identified key pro-Kremlin narratives in pro-Russian influence campaigns targeting the EU referendum and the main actors. 

To spread disinformation about the referendum in Moldova, pro-Russian influence actors are actively using websites from Russia-controlled and self-proclaimed Transnistria, including Tiraspol News. This website is part of a Russian propaganda network that targets all EU countries and all regions of Ukraine. These websites share identical designs and pro-Kremlin propaganda topics.

The Moldovan authorities detected the threat and took prompt action. Moldova not only exposed voter bribery schemes but also closed the main channels for the spread of Russian and anti-European propaganda. At the same time, Kishinev struck not only against Russian news publications but also against local actors of the Kremlin’s influence—from news sites to Telegram channels.