Moldova: Citizens Approve Their Country’s Entry into The European Union
Moldova’s President Maia Sandu, 2024. X/ @tassagency_en
October 21, 2024 Hour: 1:50 pm
The ‘Yes’ option got the support of 50.46 percent of the people, while the ‘No’ option garnered 49.54 percent of the votes.
Moldovans narrowly approved their country’s entry into the European Union during a constitutional referendum held on Sunday. The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) confirmed that the option in favor of “YES” received the support of 50.46 percent of the population, while the “NO” option garnered 49.54 percent of the votes.
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The last-minute victory for EU membership is excellent news for Moldova’s right-wing president, Maia Sandu, who won the presidential election but will face a runoff in a few weeks.
At the beginning of the vote count, the “NO” option seemed poised to win, as opponents of joining the EU were ahead by eight percentage points with 85 percent of the votes already counted. Many Moldovans went to bed with those partial results, only to wake up to a very different outcome.
Supporters of European integration began to gain ground in the vote count early Monday morning, when the two sides were in a technical tie that was ultimately resolved against those opposed to joining the European Union.
It appears that Moldova’s large diaspora tipped the balance in favor of the pro-European option, with 751,235 votes, while the “NO” option received 737,639 votes.
“Thanks to you, dear Moldovans, we won the first battle. We won a battle that was unfair, but we won it cleanly,” said Sandu.
The shift in the electoral results began shortly after the Moldovan president denounced an alleged electoral fraud around midnight. A failure in the pro-European referendum would have been a significant setback for Sandu, who is cornered by the impact of the Ukrainian conflict, the decline in living standards due to the pandemic, and the energy war with Russia.
A defeat in the referendum would have placed the current president in a very difficult position ahead of her runoff election against former Prosecutor Alexandr Stoianoglo, who is often viewed as a politician supporting foreign policy positions similar to those of Russia.
Currently, Moldova exports over 65 percent of its products to the European market, from which it receives more than 85 percent of its direct investments. The current government of this country hopes to join the EU by 2030, having opened negotiations with Brussels in December 2023.
teleSUR/ JF Source. EFE
