Report | Moldova votes 2024: A choice between Russia and the EU

Moldova stands at a critical juncture that will determine its position within Europe. In the elections on Sunday, the incumbent president Maia Sandu is seeking a second term and a positive result in the EU accession referendum to reaffirm her country’s path towards Europe. But the hybrid threat facing Moldova from Russia will not dissipate, particularly as next year’s pivotal parliamentary elections approach in the tiny former Soviet republic. Hugo Blewett-Mundy, a non-resident associate research fellow from EUROPEUM, analyses the current situation in Moldova and provides an outlook for the country in 2025.

It is now or never for the Republic of Moldova and its democratic future. On October 20, 2024, the small landlocked country situated between Romania and Ukraine will hold two votes that will determine its position within Europe against a backdrop of renewed East-West confrontation.

In the presidential election, the pro-EU and reformist incumbent Maia Sanduis seeking to win a second term to advance her administration’s European and reform agenda that began in 2020. Moldovan voters will also be asked in a referendum whether or not to amend their country’s 1994 constitution to make EU membership an irreversible strategic objective.

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