Russia launches campaign in Moldova to discredit Sandu's victory

On November 4, Russian and pro-Kremlin figures launched an information operation to discredit the victory of incumbent Moldovan President Maia Sandu in the presidential election.

Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Details: Moldova's Central Election Commission (CEC) confirmed on November 4 that Sandu won 55.35% of the vote, defeating Kremlin-friendly opponent Alexandru Stoianoglo. Numerous world leaders congratulated Sandu on November 3 and 4, and international election observers largely praised the conduct of the elections, despite Russia's attempts to influence the results.

Pro-Russian opposition parties and officials attempted to discredit Sandu's victory: The Moldovan Socialist Party called her an “illegitimate president”; Kremlin-linked Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor told Russia's state-run Rossiya-24 TV channel that the Moldovan opposition had “proof” of massive fraud in Sandu's favor; and pro-Kremlin former Moldovan President Igor Dodon told the Kremlin's TASS news agency that Sandu won only because of the votes of the Moldovan diaspora.

The Russian information space, including Russian millbloggers, repeated the words of the pro-Russian Moldovan opposition that the Moldovan elections were controlled by “European bureaucrats” and that Moldovans had no influence on the outcome of the elections.

ISW has previously reported on Russia's systematic efforts to interfere in Moldova's elections in order to disrupt the referendum on Moldova's accession to the European Union.

Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 05/11/2024