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Tag: Moldova

  • Moldova referendum shows nation’s deep split over EU integration

    Moldova referendum shows nation’s deep split over EU integration

    Sandu Moldova

    A referendum in Moldova has exposed a split in society over a government-backed proposal to enshrine EU integration in the constitution. Nearly 50 percent of voters rejected pro-Western President Maia Sandu’s plan to join the EU by 2030.

    Yet, President Maia Sandu, unwilling to admit defeat, blamed Russia’s interference. Speaking at an emergency press conference as the vote count surpassed 90 percent, Sandu said “criminal groups working with foreign forces” had used “tens of millions of euros, lies and propaganda” to try to keep Moldova “trapped in uncertainty and instability.”

    Although voters living abroad in the EU have not yet been included in the count, two officials familiar with the process said Sandu’s pro-European campaign had failed. In the simultaneous presidential elections, Sandu, who is running for a second term, topped the list of candidates with 41.78% of the vote after 98.11% of the ballots had been counted. Her closest rival, Alexandru Stoianoglo, came in second with 26.41%. Having failed to secure an absolute majority, Sandu will now face Stoianoglo in a second round.

    Sandu’s failure was also noticed in other countries. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said that Moldova “failed the test of democracy” based on the results of the recent referendum on European integration and the presidential election.

    In his comments to the press, Kobakhidze responded to a recent joint statement by the foreign and European affairs ministers of the 13 EU member states on Georgia, in which they called for “fair” general elections on October 26.

    “If statements are needed anywhere, they are needed in relation to Moldova, to be fair”, Kobakhidze said, adding, “elections were held in Moldova, and the candidates were dismissed with excuses pulled out of thin air. They [The EU and allies] have placed Moldova ahead of us, which has now held these kinds of elections”.

    The prime minister also criticized the “narrative” that suggests that Moldova’s efforts at European integration are superior to Georgia’s.

    Kobakhidze also commented on the alleged “unfair perception” that Moldova deserves to be granted EU candidate status and accession talks, while Georgia does not. “This is a shame. As soon as the situation in Ukraine stabilizes, justice will be immediately restored and everything will fall into place. I am sure of this,” he concluded.

    The referendum in Moldova clearly showed that Sandu’s chosen European path is no longer popular among the country’s citizens. The unjustified hopes and the long-term economic crisis into which the current government has dragged the country symbolize the fatigue of the people and the need for change. Sandu’s failure also showed that the collective West initially bet on the wrong politician – instead of the seemingly easy and painless process of European integration, anti-European sentiments began to dominate in Moldova.

  • Moldova’s political heritage seem to be sunk in crime

    Moldova’s political heritage seem to be sunk in crime

    190820 nemstova moldova tease dh5ikf

    The latest events in the Moldova’s politics have drawn attention of the international community not only because of their rapid pace and uncertainty, but also due to the ongoing and ever-increasing penetration of crime in the Moldova’s political system that has become the phenomenon for the European country.

    The criminal nature of the Vlad Plahotniuc’s regime is beyond any doubt. However, the unlawful way of governing the country, which was formed when the so-called pro-European forces came to power in 2009, cannot be broken overnight. It was created gradually, with a whole layer of people thirsting for power and money and penetrating in all spheres of Moldova’s economy, finance, politics, public administration. Moldova’s oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc has been on top of this hierarchy system since 2016. In February 2019, after the dramatic change of power, Maia Sandu, the leader of ACUM, became the prime minister promising to clean up «the muck» while Plahotniuc fled the country and left to the USA. So did his ally – Ilan Shor – the politician accused of playing a key role in the so-called “grand theft” of a billion US dollars from the banking system. 

    However, there appeared a new political figure on the Moldova’s political stage – Renato Usatii. Known for his criminal business in Russia he was engaged in the Moldova’s politics and initially had good relations with Vlad Plahotniuc. They were believed to be involved in the creation of one of the largest money-laundering channels in the country when Plahotniuc was based in Moldova and Usatii resided in Russsia.

  • Neither Moscow way, nor the EU’s? how Moldova’s Vladimir Plahotniuc manipulates the public opinion

    Neither Moscow way, nor the EU’s? how Moldova’s Vladimir Plahotniuc manipulates the public opinion

    • plahotniuc

    The upcoming elections in Moldova are encouraging more and more political experts to attempt to predict the results. The main focus is on Moldova’s de-facto leader, Vladimir Plahotniuc who continues to play the double game both with the West and Moscow.  Through manipulating both Russia and US/EU, Plahotniuc has already earned a fortune and he is definitely not going to stop.

    Notorious for stealing $1 billion (around 12% of the country’s GDP) to the offshore territories (a “theft of the century”) through the Moldavian banks back in 2014, Plahotniuc managed to get away with it and even to charm Washington’s power brokers making the Obama Administration welcome him with open arms.

    According to Aaron Miller’s book, “Moldova Under Vladimir Plahotniuc: Corruption & Oligarchy”, Plahotniuc deftly manages and manipulates the public opinion in Moldova with an ongoing “Russia vs. the West” narrative. But indeed, no party is expected to win the majority, which will lead to a deadlock that benefits a power broker like Plahotniuc. The only Plahotniuc political ambitions is to get wealthier. As Moldovan’s whistleblower Gofman says, Plahotniuc, as chairman of the Democratic Party of Moldova (DPM), received 70 percent of the $1 billion stolen funds, with the remaining 30 percent divvied up between DPM deputies and officials from Moldova’s Liberal Party.  Despite winning only 19 of 101 parliamentary seats in Moldova’s 2014 parliamentary election, Plahotniuc’s DPM party formed a coalition government with the pro-European Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM).  This has certainly raised doubts in Brussels whether the EU could continue trade with corrupted Moldova. Nevertheless, Plahotniuc remains “unpunishable” as, the Miiller says, “Moldova’s elites, like Plahotniuc, get to define the rules…write the rules and rewrite the rules, and [they] are not held accountable by either Brussels or Moscow.”