Maia Sandu calls for unity and integrity in second round
Both the votes from within the country and those from the diaspora have demonstrated that the phrase "every vote counts" is not merely an empty expression.
This assertion was made by Maia Sandu, the PAS candidate seeking a new presidential mandate, during her first press conference following the elections on October 20.
Sandu invited her opponent, Alexandr Stoianoglo, to participate in an electoral debate this week and appealed to citizens to mobilise once again for the second round. At the same time, the PAS candidate denounced attempts to defraud the elections and called for a more effective judicial system to combat electoral corruption.
"More than 1.56 million people went to the polling stations. The diaspora demonstrated that it remains connected to the homeland, regardless of how many thousands of kilometres away they have made their new home," she stated. Over 240 thousand fellow citizens voted abroad, refusing to leave the fate of our country in the hands of those who betray us.
"Thanks to you, Moldova has once again safeguarded its democracy and its path toward progress. (…) Thanks to you, dear Moldovans, we have won the first battle in a difficult struggle that determined the fate of our country. We fought justly and won justly in an unfair battle."
The PAS candidate denounced attempts to manipulate votes and advocated for strengthening the judicial system. The vote on October 20 must serve as a lesson, particularly for the election that will be held in the second round, Maia Sandu stated.
"What occurred yesterday, as well as over the past two years, constitutes an attack on democracy and the freedom of our people, an assault on our aspiration to join the European family. Adversaries desire a frightened, divided Moldova; they want Moldovans to question their strength and unity. The bandits who seek to regain power at any cost attempted to exploit democracy as a weakness, but the Moldovans united and remained resolute."
Maia Sandu invited her opponent in the second round, former prosecutor general Alexandr Stoianoglo, who is backed by the socialists, to an electoral debate this week. Simultaneously, the PAS candidate urged Moldovans who supported Renato Usatîi, Octavian Țîcu, Andrei Năstase, Tudor Ulianovschi, and Ion Chicu in this race to back her in the second round.
"Now, the only way we can safeguard our democracy is through voting. This is my message to all citizens – only through voting can we avert disaster. I am thankful to you for expressing your opinions yesterday and showing us the direction you wish to take for Moldova."
To ensure that all these efforts are not in vain and to prevent losing what we have, we must fight one more battle. Preliminary data indicate that none of the 11 candidates who entered the race for the presidential seat received at least half of the votes cast by voters in the election.
Under these circumstances, the CEC announced that it will organise the second round of voting with the participation of the top two candidates who received the highest number of votes in the first round – Maia Sandu and Alexandr Stoianoglo.
Preliminary data presented by the CEC after processing 99.64% of the protocols indicate that 42.37% of voters who went to the polls on Sunday cast their ballots for the PAS candidate, while 26.02% voted for the PSRM candidate.
According to data from the IGP, throughout the election day, 146 cases of electoral process violations were recorded, including the photographing of ballots, damaging ballots and removing them from polling stations, prohibited electoral agitation, unauthorised electoral displays, organised transportation of voters, reasonable suspicion of voter corruption, violation of voting rights, and interference with the activities of the electoral body.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
