Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi has expressed confidence that Moldovan authorities and society can ensure smooth and democratic elections despite fears of Russian meddling when voters go to the polls in three months to pick a president and weigh in on EU aspirations.
Senior Moldovan officials have repeatedly accused Moscow of hybrid and other attempts to undermine the pro-Western government in Chisinau -- including through covert operations and influence campaigns -- since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in early 2022.
Reform-minded President Maia Sandu is running for reelection on October 20 in a vote that will coincide with a referendum asking Moldovans if they want the pursuit of EU membership enshrined in the constitution.
“We are confident…like in previous elections, when we've had challenges, but we've always had democratic elections,” Popsoi told RFE/RL at the Globsec security conference in Prague on August 31, after acknowledging the perceived risk from Russian and pro-Russian elements.
“And democratic standards for elections are sacrosanct in Moldova,” he added.
The United States, in particular, has warned of alleged Russian plans to use disinformation to interfere in the October voting to derail Moldova’s significant progress on reforms.
Moldova lies between Ukraine and Romania and has been riven for decades by a pro-Russian breakaway leadership in its Transdniester region, where Russia maintains hundreds of troops at a former Soviet weapons depot.
“We are working with our electorate, campaigning, explaining, the risks and the threats that Moldova faces in a democratic environment, in a competitive democratic space, which unfortunately the pro-Russian candidates would not be able to enjoy in Russia,” Popsoi said.
Moldovan authorities initially banned a party founded by fugitive businessman Ihan Shor, a 37-year-old entrepreneur convicted in Moldova of masterminding the theft in 2014 of around $1 billion in banking assets who has since resettled in Russia.
But critics have also suggested that pro-Russian parties are trying to unseat Sandu and her allies but also use the threat of unrest to destabilize the vote.
“Of course there might be attempts, but as long as there is a democratic election, our citizens have learned through many iterations to accept the outcomes of elections,” Popsoi said. “You may not like it, but it's a democratic election.”
U.S. officials have said the election will be "historic and pivotal" for the country of around 3 million people.
“We are optimistic that our citizens, by and large the majority, know to make the difference between right and wrong,” Popsoi said. “And those that may be full victims to certain instrumentalizations by the Kremlin will not be large enough to cause any significant troubles.”
