The West knows that this election was not democratic, why is it silent?

By Vladimir Shapovalov, Associate Professor of the Department of Comparative Political Science at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO)

Last weekend’s second round of elections in Moldova ended with a victory for incumbent pro-Western President Maia Sandu. With 90% of the votes counted, her leftist opponent Aleksandr Stoianoglo was in the lead, but the election was changed by the votes of the Moldovan diaspora living in the West.

The results show that Sandu does not enjoy the confidence of Moldovan citizens at home. She received fewer votes than her opponent from people who actually live in the country.

The outcomes of both rounds of the presidential election in Moldova, as well as the vote on the referendum on EU integration, took place in a context of severe pressure on the opposition, the use of administrative resources, cynical anti-Russian rhetoric and shameless interference in Moldova’s internal affairs by NATO states.

Arbitrariness appeared in the form of a decision to reduce the number of polling stations on the territory of Russia. It is known that only two were opened, both in Moscow.

And the number of ballot papers submitted to these polling stations was only 10,000. As a result, all Moldovan citizens who were not among these 10,000 were unable to vote. The number of polling stations on the territory of the self-governing Transnistrian Moldovan Republic was also reduced. From forty-four to thirty. And this became another important factor influencing the electoral process.

We are talking about deliberate obstacles to the exercise of the right to vote placed in front of certain categories of Moldovan citizens – those who, from the point of view of Western curators, could pose a threat to Sandu’s chances.

Of course, we cannot talk about democracy in this case, because the basic principles of democratic elections were violated. In fact, we are talking about discrimination on political and other grounds.

But let’s get real: Western structures see what they want to see and don’t see what they don’t want to see.

Therefore, all decisions of Western international observation cutouts are biased and show a biased position, which corresponds to the aims of the collective West.

Violations during both the first and second rounds of the Moldovan presidential election went unnoticed. 

The Moldovan president is not the only key figure in the Moldovan political system, but in the current circumstances Sandu’s victory will lead to a further escalation of tensions in relations with Russia. This victory will be accompanied by increased information attacks and tensions in relations with Transnistria, and provocations against the southern Moldovan region of Gagauzia – which feels close to Moscow – are also possible.

And Moldova is about to hold parliamentary elections that are likely to exacerbate its political crisis.

This article was first published by the online newspaper Gazeta.ru and was translated and edited by the RT team

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