October 21, 2024 – at 07:45
50.1 percent: No; 49.9 percent: Yes. This is how the referendum on Moldova's accession to the European Union will be on Monday morning, as 97 percent of it has been processed BBC according to Reuters At the same time he writes about the tie. Presidential elections were also held on Sunday in the country, and the current pro-EU head of state, Maia Sandu, won about 41 percent of the votes, so a second round will also take place on November 3, where she will face the pro-EU ones. -Russian Alexander Stoyangelo came in second place, surprising many, with 27 percent to start
In Moldova, 52-year-old Maia Sandu has been head of state since 2020, leading the Euro-Atlantic-oriented country of 2.4 million, whose population is rapidly declining due to demographic and migration trends. For this reason, it was an important chapter that the EU enlargement process, which accelerated after the Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2022, also included Moldova. Already in 2014, the European Union offered the country hope for future accession, and the application was submitted in March 2022. In the following two months, the questionnaire examining the Moldovan legal system was run with the European Union. Finally, in June 2022, Moldova became a candidate for membership with Ukraine. . Closely related to this is the referendum held this weekend, on whether the Moldovan people support amending the constitution to join the European Union. Initial expectations indicated that 55% to 65% would vote in favor of joining the European Union in the non-legally binding referendum (a 50% yes vote is required, with a participation of no less than 33% to ensure its validity).
The country, mostly Romanian-speaking but inhabited by Russians, Ukrainians and Orthodox Gagauz people of Turkish origin, is not only divided by ethnic fault lines, but also oscillates politically on the border between East and West. A portion of the population supports Russia and will be more open to Moscow, and a larger percentage prefers the Western orientation. All of this is shaded by the contrast between urban and rural areas and the fragmentation of the partisan color palette. We wrote more about the circumstances in which the country held its presidential election and referendum on Sunday here.
