In a historic referendum, Moldovans, with a razor-thin margin, voted in favor of joining the EU.
According to The Guardian, more than 99.6% of the votes were counted on Monday, October 21, 2024. As per the Central Electoral Commission, 50.46% of the people voted in favor of becoming part of the EU while 49.54% of citizens said “No”.
The results were shocking for many, as it was expected that the Eastern European country of 2.6 million people would easily pass the referendum.
Moreover, the results of the separate presidential election showed that the pro-western president, Maia Sandu, topped in the first round with 42% and will now face her closest competitor and pro-Russian Socialist, Alexandr Stoianoglo, in the second round next month.
Sandu, in a news conference on Monday, said, “Moldova has won the first difficult battle in the push to join the European Union.”
She also claimed that “foreign forces” tried to buy votes and called it an “attack on Moldovan sovereignty.”
Furthermore, Moldova began efforts to join the EU in June after Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Sandu and many other people in the country condemned the invasion after a large number of Ukrainian refugees fled to the capital Chișinău.
