Republic of Moldova

Maia Sandu claimed pro-Russian forces illegally interfered in Sunday's presidential polls, which will go to a run-off ballot next month, while referendum results only narrowly approved enshrining EU accession as a national goal.

Days before presidential elections and a referendum are due in Moldova, authorities have closed the Telegram channels of the Moscow-based oligarch Ilan Shor and several other pro-Russian propagandists. Moldovan authorities on Thursday blocked 15 Telegram channels and 95 chatbots linked to the fugitive convicted oligarch Ilan Shor, … .

Pro-Kremlin forces are meddling in Moldova's upcoming presidential election by paying off tens of thousands of voters in a sweeping plot to derail Chisinau's bid for closer ties with the European Union, the country's police and Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office said. 

Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu on Sunday evening urged voters not to give in to electoral bribery schemes set up by “thieves, fugitives and bandits” after the oligarch Ilan Shor promised to pay people who convince others to cast ‘no’ votes in the upcoming referendum on European integration.

In the wake of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Eastern countries have been increasingly exposed to FIMI tactics. We [EUISS] explore how the EU’s enlargement policy has been targeted by FIMI operations, and argue that the EUPM Moldova mission could serve as a blueprint for a renewed EU approach to CSDP.

Court upholds Central Electoral Commission's decision to reject pro-Russian Ilan Shor party's application to take part in the campaign for Moldova's looming EU membership referendum.

Pro-European President Maia Sandu staged a city centre rally on Friday (20 September) to kick off her bid for re-election in a month-long campaign held alongside a referendum to cement her drive to join the European Union. … Recent polls put Sandu comfortably in front with about 27% support, with [candidates] Usatii and Stoianolgo both on about 11.5%. Surveys show about 48% willing to vote for the constitutional amendments to enable the country to join the EU, with 37% opposed.

Members of local political party branches in Moldova linked to fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor are accused of receiving funds from undeclared sources to take part in protests linked to the country’s presidential elections due in October.

Lawmakers in Moldova’s separatist region of Tiraspol passed a law on Wednesday banning the use of the term ‘Transnistria’, equating it with terms such as ‘fascism’ and ‘Nazism’, with the region’s de facto leader, Vadim Krasnoselski, saying he prefers the Russian term ‘Pridnestrovie’.

Fugitive Moldovan oligarchs Ilan Shor and Veaceslav Platon have spent around €136,000 on Facebook campaigns in the last three months to spread panic, discredit Moldova’s EU integration process and boost Russia’s image, WatchDog.MD experts have found. … In 2017, Shor was convicted of fraud for stealing $1 billion from three Moldovan banks in 2014.