Moldovan President Accuses Russia of Bribing Voters

Moldova's president has accused Russia of trying to buy voters in the country's upcoming elections by funneling money to pro-Moscow political parties.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on November 1 that Russia had transferred nearly $5 million in the past two months to finance "criminal groups", including the Shor Party founded by exiled businessman Ilan Shor, to help pro-Russian parties gain favorable results in upcoming local elections.

"Russia used to bribe Moldovan officials," Sandu said, referring to corruption scandals in the country before her election in 2020. "Now that is no longer possible, so they are bribing Moldovan citizens."

Moldova's president said some of his country's citizens "went to Moscow to get money", but did not provide evidence.

Ms Sandu urged voters to vote for her allies in the November 5 election to support her vision of Moldova moving towards a pro-European direction and joining the European Union (EU).

Moldovan President Maia Sandu attends a conference in Prague, Czech Republic on October 16. Photo: AFP

Responding to the Moldovan president's accusations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said today that Ms Sandu was "a disgrace to the country and the main threat to the Moldovan people".

According to Ms. Zakharova, Moscow is monitoring the situation ahead of the election and believes that the Moldovan government is trying to exaggerate the threat from Russia to distract domestic public opinion from mistakes in managing the country.

"The Moldovan authorities continue to suppress dissenting opinions and suppress political opponents," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman stressed.

Tensions between Russia and Moldova have increased since Moscow launched an operation in Ukraine in late February 2022. Moldova's pro-Western government condemned Russia's move.

President Sandu accused Russia in February of trying to incite violence in Moldova to overthrow her government and replace it with a pro-Moscow ruling group. Russia denied the accusations, calling the information "completely baseless".

Last month, Moldova suspended the pro-Russian Shor party, citing “unconstitutional” reasons, a move that was criticized by Russia. Zakharova said on November 2 that Moldova’s Central Election Commission had refused to recognize six Russian monitors participating in an election monitoring mission conducted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Moldova described the move as protecting the integrity of the election, while Russia said the decision violated its international obligations and was a "manifestation of anti-Russian policies". Moscow said it would take action if Moldova did not change its mind.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova at a press conference in Moscow in April. Photo: AFP

This weekend’s election is seen as a test of Ms Sandu’s efforts to move towards Europe. “It is important that people vote for candidates who will pursue Moldova’s pro-European policies and not create obstacles on this path,” the Moldovan president said.

Ahead of the election, Moldova blocked access to major Russian news sites. Moscow criticized the move as an attempt to prevent Moldovans from accessing opposing views and accused President Sandu of stirring up anti-Russian sentiment.

Moldova, a former Soviet republic that is now one of Europe’s poorest countries, has a population of nearly 2.6 million. It borders Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south. Relations between Russia and Moldova began to deteriorate in 2021, when Natalia Gavrilita became prime minister and advocated for Moldova to join the EU.

Moldova applied to join the EU in April 2022 and was granted candidate status by the 27-nation bloc two months later, along with Ukraine. However, it can take a decade or more for candidates to become EU members, as they must meet multiple criteria to join the union.

Huyen Le (According to Reuters , RT )

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/tong-thong-moldova-cao-buoc-nga-mua-chuoc-cu-tri-4672354.html