Moldova narrowly votes for EU membership amid fraud claims

A referendum on Moldova joining the EU passed with a razor-thin majority on Monday as pro-Brussels President Maia Sandu blamed the outcome on foreign meddling in a veiled reference to Russia, which denied the accusations.

The Kremlin called on Sandu to "prove" election interference in the ex-Soviet republic bordering war-torn Ukraine and alleged "anomalies" in Moldova's vote count.

Sandu managed to top the first round of presidential elections held at the same time as the referendum on Sunday, but will face a tough second round against Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor backed by the pro-Russian Socialists.

Sandu applied for her country of 2.6 million people to join the European Union following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

With more than 99 per cent of the votes counted, the "yes" vote was slightly ahead at 50.28 per cent — just 8,000 votes more than the anti-EU camp.

A stern Sandu said late on Sunday that Moldova had witnessed "an unprecedented assault on our country's freedom and democracy", blaming "criminal groups, working together with foreign forces hostile to our national interests".

In the presidential election, Sandu gained more than 42 per cent of the vote, while Stoianoglo picked up a higher-than-expected 26 per cent.

A second round is scheduled for November 3.

The referendum result — even with the slim victory for the pro-EU camp — "weakens the pro-European image of the population and the leadership of Maia Sandu", Florent Parmentier, a political scientist at Paris-based Sciences Po, told AFP.

Describing the result as a "surprise", he said it would not impact the accession negotiations with Brussels, which began this June, though a clear "yes" would have been "a clear positive signal".

Parmentier added the results "did not bode well for the second round" for Sandu, noting many of those who supported the nine other candidates on Sunday were more likely to vote for Stoiagnolu in the second round.

Sandu, 52, a former World Bank economist and Moldova's first woman president, who beat a Moscow-backed incumbent in 2020, had been the clear favourite in the race, with surveys 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 to reform the judiciary.

In his campaign, Stoianoglo — who was fired as prosecutor by Sandu — called for the "restoration of justice" and vowed to wage a "balanced foreign policy".

The 57-year-old abstained from voting in the referendum.

In Chisinau, voter Ghenadie, who declined to give his last name, said he was worried by what he saw as the country's "Western" drift and thought the government was "making the situation worse" economically.

Another voter, Olga Cernega, a 60-year-old economist, said she had come to vote "for prosperity, peace and wellbeing in our country".

"Infuriate Moscow, impress Europe, save her country once again — that's who Maia Sandu is," Tusk said.