From Le Figaro with AFP
Published yesterday at 9:36 p.m., updated yesterday at 9:36 p.m.
Chisinau Mayor Ion Ceban and his wife Tatiana answer journalists’ questions after voting for local elections at a polling station in Chisinau on November 5, 2023. ELENA COVALENCO / AFP
The pro-European party PAS, which is in power in Moldova, failed to capture the capital Chisinau in the first round of local elections, according to results published on Monday November 6, accusing Russia of interfering in the election campaign.
He lost in that city to outgoing mayor Ion Ceban, a former member of the pro-Russian Socialist Party who now calls himself pro-Western, and won a second mandate with his new party, the National Alternative Movement (MAS), with just under 30 percent 51% of the vote, compared to just 28% for PAS (Party of Action and Solidarity).
Before the first round last Sunday, the pro-European president of PAS, Maia Sandu, declared that “the parties paid by the Kremlin and disguised as pro-European parties” were trying to “subjugate” the former Soviet republic to “foreign interests.” She accused them of buying votes.
The second round is scheduled for November 19th
Two days before the election, the pro-European government disqualified the candidates of the pro-Russian Chance party because their election campaign was secretly financed by Russia.
This party is linked to fugitive businessman Ilan Shor, convicted in absentia of fraud and whose extradition to Israel is demanded by Moldova. PAS, which had made “these elections a test of Moldova’s European journey,” nevertheless said it came first in almost two-thirds of regions and won in 240 out of nearly 900 town halls. A second tour must take place November 19th. Observers sent by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) issued a statement complaining about the government’s “restriction” of “freedom of expression and expression” in the name of the state of emergency as well as “foreign interference.” “.
After Russia invaded its large Ukrainian neighbor, Moldova, which has only 2.6 million inhabitants and remains one of the poorest countries in Europe, was granted candidate country status for the European Union. She regularly denounces attempts at destabilization from Russia.