BUCHAREST: Moldovan President Maia Sandu warned Tuesday that her country’s democracy faces a “race against time” from what she said was attempts by Russia to influence parliamentary elections this month.
In a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Sandu said the Sep. 28 vote to choose a new 101-seat legislature would be the “most consequential” election in the European Union-candidate country’s history.
Sandu reiterated long-held allegations that Moscow is conducting a sprawling ” hybrid war ” against Moldova — through disinformation, vote-buying, illicit party funding, and myriad other tactics — to try to undermine the upcoming vote and derail Moldova’s path toward EU membership.
“The Kremlin’s goal is clear: to capture Moldova through the ballot box, to use us against Ukraine, and to turn us into a launchpad for hybrid attacks on the European Union,” Sandu said. “If our democracy cannot be protected, then no democracy in Europe is safe.”
Sandu said the election outcome will determine whether Moldova becomes a stable democracy or whether alleged Russian destabilization pulls Moldova away from Europe. “Today we face an unlimited hybrid war on a scale unseen before the full invasion of Ukraine,” she added.
Moscow had repeatedly denied meddling in Moldova.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told Sandu before her speech that “we are all deeply impressed by your determination, courage, and steadfast commitment to Moldova’s people,” and that the chamber stands united in support of Moldova’s democratic path toward EU membership.
The EU Parliament will debate later on Tuesday a resolution on strengthening Moldova’s resilience against Russian “hybrid threats and malign interference.” It is expected to vote on it on Wednesday.
Sandu’s remarks on Tuesday come weeks after the leaders of France, Germany, and Poland traveled to Moldova in a show of support to mark the country’s 34 years of independence from the Soviet Union.
Moldova’s upcoming parliamentary election will be pivotal to the country’s geopolitical course: whether it can stay convincingly on its EU path or be dragged back into Russia’s orbit.
“It is a race against time, to anchor our democracy inside the (European) Union, where it will be protected from the greatest threat we face: Russia,” Sandu said.
The pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity, or PAS, which Sandu founded in 2016, won a clear majority in the 2021 parliamentary election but risks losing its majority in the Sep. 28 vote, with no clear pro-European alternatives on the ballot.
In the aftermath of Russia’s full invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022, Moldova applied for EU membership and was granted candidate status that year. Brussels agreed to open accession negotiations last year.
“Precisely because we have advanced greatly on this path, Russia has unleashed its full arsenal of hybrid attacks against us,” Sandu said. “The battlefield is our elections.”
Last year, Moldovans voted narrowly in favor of securing the country’s EU path, the same day a presidential election was held, which secured Sandu a second term. But those two votes were also overshadowed by widespread claims of Russian interference, which Moscow denied.
Siegfried Muresan, Chair of the European Parliament’s delegation to Moldova, said in a statement that “Moldova is a priority for EU security, not just EU enlargement” and that “a stronger Moldova means a weaker Russia at our borders.”
“This is why, in this week’s plenary, we will vote on a resolution reaffirming strong support for Moldova’s EU path,” he said. “We will also call on the Council to start negotiations on the first cluster of Moldova’s accession process.”