Moldova's pro-European Union President Maia Sandu has blamed an "unprecedented assault on freedom and democracy in the country" after Sunday's partial election results showed a majority of Moldovans chose "no" in a referendum on joining the European Union.
If the results are confirmed, it will mean a major setback for Sandu, who managed to win the first round of the presidential elections held at the same time, but will face a difficult second round.
The double vote is seen as a key test of the former Soviet republic's pro-European turn under Sandu's leadership, but has been overshadowed by concerns about Russian interference amid the war in neighbouring Ukraine.
Sandu, who defeated a Moscow-backed candidate in 2020, severed ties with Moscow and applied to join the EU after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, in a country with a population of 2.6 million.
With 90 percent of votes counted in the referendum, about 53 percent said "no" and almost 47 percent said "yes", but the results could change after the votes are counted abroad.
A grim-looking Sandu said Moldova faced "an unprecedented assault on our country's freedom and democracy, both today and in recent months", accusing "criminal groups working together with foreign forces hostile to our national interests".
In the presidential election, Sandu received 38% of the vote, according to partial results, and so will face his closest rival, Alexandre Stoyanovoglo, in a second round on 3 November.
The former prosecutor, backed by the pro-Russian Socialists, had garnered a higher-than-expected result of over 28% in a race with 11 competitors in total.
The result of the referendum - even if he reverses himself and wins "yes" by a narrow margin - "weakens the pro-European image of the population and of the leadership of Maya Sandu," Florent Parmentier, a political scientist at Sciences Po in Paris, told AFP.
Describing the result as a "surprise", he said it would not affect EU accession talks that began in June this year, although a clear "yes" would be "a clear positive signal to Brussels".
Parmentier added that the results "do not bode well for the second round" for Sandu, noting that many of those who backed the other nine candidates on Sunday were more likely to vote for Stoyanov in the second round.
Sandu, 52, a former World Bank economist and Moldova's first female president, was the clear favourite in the race, with polls also predicting a "yes" victory in the referendum.
Sandu's critics say she has not done enough to fight inflation in one of Europe's poorest countries or reform the judiciary.
In his campaign, Stoyanoglo, who was sacked as prosecutor by Sandu, called for "restoring justice" and promised to pursue a "balanced foreign policy".
Stoyanoglo, 57, abstained from voting in the referendum.
Fears of Russian interference are growing.
Washington recently issued a new warning about alleged Russian meddling, and the EU imposed new sanctions on several Moldovan nationals.
Moscow has "categorically" rejected the allegations of interference.
Police have made hundreds of arrests in recent weeks after uncovering an "unprecedented" vote-buying scheme that they say could taint up to a quarter of ballots cast in the country of 2.6 million people.
Police said millions of dollars from Russia aimed at bribing voters had been transferred into the country by people linked to Ilan Shore, a fugitive businessman and former politician. Convicted in absentia last year of fraud, Schor regularly branded Moldova a "police state" and a "compliant puppet of the West". "You have failed miserably," Shore wrote on social media after the vote.
In addition to the alleged vote-buying, police say hundreds of young people have been found to have been trained in Russia and the Balkans to create "mass disorder" in Moldova, such as using tactics to provoke law enforcement. I BGNES
