Moldovaclaimed Wednesday that authorities in Russia were planning to weaken the country $ s upcoming presidential election and a referendum on joining the EU by bussing in voters to polling stations at the Moldovan Embassy in Moscow.Moldova $ s Foreign Ministry said it was alarmed by reports of Russia apparently preparing to $ synthetically produce the impression of overcrowding $ this Sunday at thetwo ballot stations in Moscow.
$ [Moldova] contact the Russian authorities and other celebrations to refrain from actions that might interfere with the electoral process through unlawful ways or synthetically create the look of crowds at the polling stations, $ the ministry said in a statement.There was no instant remark from the Russian authorities.Voters in Moldova and its diplomatic objectives abroad will head to the surveys on Sunday to choose the country $ s next president and vote on whether Moldova $ s constitution need to be amended to make joining the EU a main aspiration.
Pro-European incumbent President Maia Sandy is the clear favorite versus 10 other candidates.The run-up to the election has been plagued by allegations of a large vote-buying scheme funneled from Russia and connected to fugitive business owner and previous politician Ilan Shor, who lives in Russia and was convicted of scams in absentia last year.
The EU imposed sanctions on five individuals and one entity in reaction to the supposed Russian disturbance, which the Kremlin denied this week.
The EU, which granted Moldova candidate status after Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, also announced a record 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) in financial support for Moldova last week.The White House said Tuesday that Moscow has spent $ millions of dollars $ to finance its preferred celebrations and spreading out disinformation on social media.Russia $ s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharovacriticized the Moldovan authorities earlier Wednesday for apparently printing out only 10,000 tallies for 500,000 Moldovans who live and operate in Russia and are qualified to vote.She did not indicate the number of the Russia-based Moldovans were registered to vote this Sunday.