Moldova’s recent elections, marred by apparent fraud, reveal a country deeply divided over its future. President Maia Sandu, a staunch EU supporter, failed to secure an outright victory, with just 42.45% of the vote in the first round, forcing a runoff and drawing votes largely from the diaspora.
Not suspicious at all, where have we seen that before?
The final result was a razor-thin “Yes” vote, with 50.3% of voters in favor and 49.7% against, after a “last-minute spike” in yes votes.
Needless to say, this was not at all a ringing endorsement of either Sandu, who was widely predicted, at least in the west, to cruise home to a first round win, or of the “European Path” and elections that were expected to give a solid result and ensure the stability of the Sandu regime instead show a highly divided population, and almost certainly ensure instability, if not worse, for Moldova.
Moldovans are not happy about their current government’s assault on traditionally friendly ties with Russia. Needless to say, Sandu immediately blamed her failure to secure a first round win, and the narrow referendum result, on “Russian interference” without providing any evidence.
It is of particular concern that nearly 500,000 eligible voters living in Russia were disenfranchised by the provision of only two polling stations in Moscow, and the allocation of only 10,000 ballots. Meanwhile, in the EU, numerous polling stations were available across the
Eurozone, and these votes were critical in the “Yes” vote edging ahead of the “No” vote. As Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, noted:
“Their project of integrating the country in the European Union failed to win decisive support”, she said.
While Dmitry Peskov, Russian Presidential Spokesman, said:
“What we see is a mechanically hard-to-explain rate of increase in votes in favor of Sandu and in favor of those referendum participants who favored an EU orientation”
Even more concerning for Sandu and the EU, was the strong rejection of the EU by the region of Transnistria 62.5% of voters rejected the EU, which rose to 86.8% in Bulgarian-majority district of Taraclia, while the biggest rejection was from the population of the Gagauz Autonomous Region, where the “No” vote gained 94.8%.
If anyone in Chisinau or the EU is paying attention, they should be very reluctant to attempt to drive through the results of what is a fundamentally flawed process, as doing so could not only rekindle the conflict between the government and Transnistria, but also spread to Taraclia and the Gagauz autonomous region.
And it gets worse, when one looks at the campaign itself, as well as during the voting process.
The opposition was subjected to a campaign of harassment, arrest, and barring from running at all by Sandu’s administration. The EU even went so far as to sanction political leaders of the Gaugaz autonomous region for being “pro-Russian” during the build up to the elections. The EU’s High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the ever reprehensible Josep Borrell, stated:
“Moldova faces massive direct attempts from Russia to destabilize the country, as well as challenges arising from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. This is a direct threat to a sovereign country, to its democratic life, to its path towards the European Union. The EU will continue providing all its support to the legitimate aspirations of the Moldovan people. Today’s listings are yet another contribution to the resilience of Moldova,”
Moldova’s Internal Affairs
Which seems to me to be a rather nasty case of projection, given the way the EU has interfered in Moldova’s internal affairs. The bigger question is, what does this mean for other upcoming elections?
What is plain to see, is that EU and US rhetoric about democracy is little more than lipstick on a pig. We have already seen how in France, the incumbent president Macron has ignored the election results, and thereby, the will of the people, by refusing to allow the election winners, the left wing New Popular Front, to try and form a government, instead calling on the losers, in the form of Michel Barnier, an old school French rightist.
In Germany, it is no better, with the entire weight of the state directed at trying to crush the Eurosceptic party Alternative fur Deutschland, or AfD, which despite this has grown in popularity in the former East Germany, winning the vote in Thuringia, and coming a close second in Saxony, despite an extremely un-level playing field.
Again, there is a particularly pronounced difference in attitude to Russia between East and West Germany, with East Germans being far more friendly to Russia than West Germans, which is not dependent on either the left or right of the political spectrum. This also gives lie to Cold War, and post-cold war propaganda about a “brutal soviet occupation” of East Germany by the USSR.
Moldovans as cannon fodder
The potential use of Moldovans as cannon fodder to prolong the agony of Ukraine is a real possibility. Moldova is not, by any means, a prosperous country. Given the hateful rhetoric of Sandu towards Russians at both a political and ethnic level, it is not hard to see her allowing the west to recruit large numbers of mercenaries for service in Ukraine.
Secondly, and far more ominous, is the possibility of a military attack on Transnistria, in order to “Restore Constitutional Order”, evict the Russian peacekeeping force, and to take control of the tens of thousands of tons of ammunition stored in the region. Where did we hear such language before, Georgia and South Ossetia, back in 2008, and an American Election year to boot?
Russia has already drawn a red line, warning Moldova that any attack on Transnistria would be an attack on Russia, a warning previously issued to Georgia, and ignored by Saakashvili, in 2008. It should be noted that there was ample evidence that the West helped Saakashvili steal the election held January 5th, 2008, with disastrous results for Georgia.
Worst fears confirmed?
And now, all these concerns are coming to a head. The second round, held Sunday 3rd November, seems to be a cynical replay of the suspected (now almost certain) vote rigging of the first.
It is obvious, after the defeat of western interests in Georgia, that the EU and US, as well as their puppets in Chisinau, would pull out all the stops to prevent a repeat.
Again, a pathetically small number of ballots, only 10,000, were sent to the polling station at the Moldovan embassy in Moscow, only enough for a tiny fraction of the eligible voters from the more than half a million living in Russia.
Again, as with the EU referendum, Sandu lost in Moldova itself, spectacularly so in Transnistria and the Gagauz Autonomous region and early results put her rival, Stoianoglu, in front.
Needless to say, western reporting has proclaimed the now expected mantra of “Russian interference”, conveniently ignoring numerous issues from both the first and second round, especially the disenfranchising of Moldovan citizens in Russia, whose numbers dwarf the winning margin.
If there is election interference from Russia, it is hard to see, while that of the US and EU is blatantly obvious. It also makes a mockery of US claims related to their own elections, which will occur on the 5th of November, as well as the EU and US claims to be bastions of so-called democratic principles.
Already, media in Moldova itself have noted that she lost the election in Moldova, and are calling her “The president of the diaspora”
Hold onto your hat, its going to be a wild ride!
The selective disenfranchisement of Moldovans in Russia and disproportionate EU support spotlight blatant manipulation, casting doubt on the legitimacy of “democratic” aspirations trumpeted by the EU and U.S.
As Moldova teeters on the edge of internal conflict, the hypocrisy of Western interference is clear: democracy, it seems, only matters when it serves Western interests.
Hold onto your hats; Moldova’s political storm is far from over.
Seth Ferris, investigative journalist and political scientist, expert on Middle Eastern affairs, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”
