According to preliminary results, a narrow majority voted in favor of joining the European Union (EU) in the referendum. The proportion of yes votes was given on Monday at 50.39 percent, with less than one percent of votes still outstanding. The votes of Moldovans living in Western Europe and North America, the majority of whom were in favor of joining the EU, were only counted later due to the time difference.
Peskov described the election campaign in Moldova as “unfree” and complained that the opposition was denied the opportunity to campaign and was suppressed by the authorities. “They were persecuted, put in prisons, interrogated, not allowed into the country, the media was closed, the Internet was blocked, and so on,” Peskov added.
International organizations and governments, however, criticized the leadership in Moscow and accused Russia of interfering. The presidential election also took place along with the EU referendum. According to the available figures, the incumbent EU-friendly President Sandu has to go into the runoff election. Both the EU and Russia are fighting for influence in the former Soviet republic.
