The country’s aspiration to join the European Union will now be enshrined in the constitution, but the referendum was incredibly close.
By Mary Ilyushina, The Washington PostWomen cast their vote in Chisinau, Moldova, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, during a presidential election and a referendum on whether to enshrine in the Constitution the country's path to European Union membership.
Yet the knife-edge result is far from a confident endorsement of her attempts to push the country sharply toward the West. After 99.41% of the 1.4 million votes were counted in the referendum, 50.39% voted in favor to 49.61% who voted against, according to the Central Electoral Commission. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine cast a shadow over Moldova’s future, prompting many pro-E.U. politicians to fear their country might be next. Russia keeps a small contingent of troops in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria.
One such scheme was orchestrated by fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, who authorities say ran a major operation to buy votes by offering money to pensioners if they voted against the referendum. Election officials carry a mobile ballot box in the village of Hrusevo, Moldova, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, during a presidential election and a referendum on whether to enshrine in the Constitution the country's path to European Union membership.
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