The second round of presidential elections began in Moldova on November 3. The current head of state Maya Sandu and the former Prosecutor General of the country Oleksandr Stoyanoglo will compete in it.
Points of attention
- The second round of presidential elections in Moldova commenced with Maya Sandu and Oleksandr Stoyanoglo as the main contenders.
- Moldova is facing allegations of voter bribery and illegal party financing, with criminal investigations underway to tackle the issue.
- Ilan Shor's network and pro-Russian forces are reportedly attempting to influence Moldovan voters through financial means and support from Russia.
- The Moldovan police seized significant sums of money and evidence linking to Russian involvement in funding activities ahead of the elections.
- With 2,219 precincts operating in the country and abroad, Moldova is closely monitoring the electoral process to ensure transparency and fairness.
The second round of elections in Moldova: what is known
Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. local time and will close at 9:00 p.m.
There are 2,219 precincts operating in the country and abroad, of which 1,988 are in Moldova, and 231 are abroad.
In the first round, which took place on October 20, 42.45% of voters voted for Sanda, her opponent Stoyanoglo received 25.98% of the votes. In total, 11 candidates participated in the first round of the presidential race.
Russia bribes Moldovan voters
The General Inspectorate of Police reported that police officers and prosecutors of Moldova conducted searches in Chisinau and Rishkani as part of several criminal cases related to voter bribery and illegal party financing.
As noted, during the searches it was again confirmed that members of Ilan Shor's network and the pro-Russian "Victory" bloc are recruiting Moldovan citizens and offering money in exchange for a vote "against one of the candidates."
During the searches, among other things, the suspects' smartphones with the Russian "Promsvyazbank" application, through which the participants of the scheme received funds, labor contracts with the Russian organization "Eurasia" and significant sums of money were seized.
Earlier, the Moldovan police said that before the presidential elections and the referendum on the EU, more than 24 million dollars were transferred to Moldova from Russia, and the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor was behind it.
