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Tengrinews.kz - Over 50 percent of voters in Moldova supported EU membership in a recent referendum, according to preliminary results reported by Deutsche Welle.
The referendum on EU integration of Moldova took place on Sunday, October 20. Based on 99 percent of the ballots counted by the Central Electoral Commission, 50.28 percent of participants backed Chisinau's European course.
Moldovan citizens were asked to respond "yes" or "no" to the question: "Do you support amendments to the Constitution aimed at joining the Republic of Moldova to the European Union?"
"Moldova has faced an unprecedented assault on our country’s freedom and democracy," stated the pro-European president of the country, Maia Sandu, to journalists in Chișinau while commenting on the preliminary results of the referendum.
She accused "criminal groups working with foreign forces hostile to our national interests" of interfering, adding that their goal was to "undermine the democratic process."
The referendum coincided with the presidential elections, featuring two frontrunners: incumbent President Maia Sandu and her opponent Alexandr Stoianoglo.
Preliminary results show Sandu receiving 35 percent of the votes and Stoianoglo 30 percent, suggesting that the two candidates will likely face each other in a runoff election in two weeks.
Moldova received candidate status for EU membership in 2022, and in December 2023, the European Council decided to begin accession negotiations for the country.
Earlier, Albania commenced substantive negotiations for joining the European Union.
