Contested parliamentary elections took place in Georgia, and in Moldova – presidential vote and referendum on membership in the European Union. The two countries have been closely monitored by the EU in the context of the enlargement of the union. However, they took different paths to this goal. What they have in common are the claims that the elections in both Georgia and Moldova were tainted by Russian interference, writes the European Newsroom – a platform for cooperation between 23 European news agencies, among which is BTA.
European Union candidate countries Georgia and Moldova took decisive but divergent steps toward EU membership in recent elections marred by accusations of Russian meddling.
In Georgia: The Central Election Commission declared the conservative nationalist and pro-Russian party “Georgian Dream“ of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze as the winner of the parliamentary elections on October 26 – a result strongly contested by the opposition as well as foreign powers such as the European Union and the United States.
Pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili accused Moscow of being behind Georgia's election rigging, saying it was part of a "Russian special operation," and the opposition in Tbilisi accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of following orders from the Russian capital.
Following widespread allegations of irregularities and protests against the results, Georgia's Central Election Commission said Tuesday it would recount votes in 14 percent of polling stations. According to the statement of the Georgian CEC, the authorities will conduct a recount of votes in five polling stations in each constituency.
In Moldova: On October 20, in a referendum, Moldova supported its European course and the inclusion of EU membership in the national constitution with a fragile majority. The national poll was dogged by accusations that Russia tried to manipulate the vote. After all votes were counted, 50.46% of voters approved the constitutional change.
On the same day, the first round of the presidential elections took place in Moldova, which was won by the pro-Western candidate Maya Sandu. She collected 42.3% of the votes against 26% for her main rival Alexander Stoyanoglo. Stoyanoglo is a former prosecutor general with pro-Russian views. Sandu is expected to face a tough second round against Stojanoglo. The runoff will take place on November 3.
Political upheaval in Georgia due to contested elections
Electoral Commission of Georgia declared "Georgian Dream" for the winner of the election with a share of about 54% of the vote, according to preliminary data. About 37.8% of the votes were collected by the union of four pro-Western opposition parties.
The result gave "Georgian Dream" 89 seats out of 150 in the national parliament. The party may form a cabinet, but it will not have enough seats to achieve one of its main goals. "Georgian Dream" wanted to achieve a qualified majority to change the constitution and ban the activity of opposition parties.
Tens of thousands protested on Monday night in the Georgian capital Tbilisi against the victory of "Georgian Dream". The opposition is calling for the elections to be repeated, but under international control.
"Your votes were stolen, but we will not allow anyone to steal our future," President Zurabishvili, who is in a long-standing conflict with the ruling party, told the protesting crowd.
She claims that quite sophisticated fraud schemes were used in the weekend vote. Earlier, Zurabishvili declared the election results illegitimate, accusing Russia of meddling in the elections.
The head of state claims that the same identity documents were used to vote multiple times in different regions, that money was distributed outside the polling stations and that there were violations in the use of electronic voting technology.
The Kremlin denies that Russia interfered in the election, saying it was European countries that put pressure on Georgia.
Politics in Georgia is dominated by the founder and leader of the party "Georgian Dream" Bidzina Ivanishvili – a billionaire who made his fortune precisely in Moscow, who supports reconciliation with Russia and cooperation with China, while also being highly critical of the West.
EU criticizes irregularities and Russian interference
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called for an independent investigation of the "irregularities" in Georgia's elections, insisting that Georgians have a "right to know what happened". The EU and US have called on Tbilisi to launch an investigation into allegations of wrongdoing.
Ministers from 13 European Union countries also condemned the "violation of international norms" of the contested parliamentary elections in Georgia, calling them "incompatible with the standards expected of a candidate for EU membership".
In a post on the social network "X" the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, also called on the Georgian CEC and the relevant authorities to "quickly, transparently and independently investigate and rule on the electoral irregularities and allegations".
Michel said he would include Georgia on the agenda of the informal EU summit in Budapest, scheduled for November 8.
Hungarian leader Viktor Orban was quick to congratulate "Georgian Dream" for the "sweeping victory", after one exit poll showed the incumbents leading and before preliminary results were published. Orban often disagrees with the European Union and maintains close ties with Moscow.
Orban, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, arrived in Georgia on Monday evening to express his support for the government amid the allegations. On Tuesday, he said he had no doubts about the outcome of the disputed weekend election in Georgia despite allegations of fraud and vote-buying.
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy and Security EU Josep Borrell emphasized that during this visit – although Hungary holds the EU presidency – Orban "does not represent" the positions of the union related to foreign affairs.
Moldova moved closer to the EU
In the referendum held on October 20, Moldovans supported the accession to the European Union with a fragile majority. After all votes were counted, the referendum was won by pro-European forces with 50.46%, but fears of Russian interference in the vote were high.
Moldova, which includes the pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria, is a candidate for EU membership but has traditionally been torn between the West and Russia. Moldova is a predominantly agricultural country that is poor by European standards. It is located between Ukraine and EU member Romania, which is also part of NATO.
Pro-EU President Maia Sandu, who defeated a Moscow-backed candidate in 2020, applied for Moldova to join the EU following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The country was granted candidate status in June 2022, and negotiations for accession started in June this year. Sandu called the referendum to get a mandate for his strategy.
Brussels watched the referendum closely, but hopes of a strong majority in favor of the EU, which this month pledged 1.8 billion euros in economic aid to Moldova, were dashed.
The EU accused Russia of “unprecedented” interference in the vote in Moldova, which is considered one of the most crucial in the country's post-Soviet history.
„The European Union condemns Russia's unprecedented malicious interference in the presidential election and constitutional referendum in Moldova,” said the statement issued by Borrell on behalf of the bloc's 27 member states.
In recent weeks, police have made hundreds of arrests after uncovering an “unprecedented” a vote-buying scheme that investigators say could taint up to a quarter of ballots cast. The police also said that millions of dollars were transferred into the country from Russia, intended to bribe voters.
According to the police, in addition to the alleged vote-buying, hundreds of young people were trained in Russia and the Balkans to create “mass disturbances” in Moldova, including by using tactics to provoke law enforcement.
The anti-EU campaign is said to have been organized and financed by Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, who is loyal to Moscow and considered an influential player in Moldovan politics. In 2023, he was sentenced in absentia in his homeland to 15 years in prison for money laundering and fraud. Shore is currently a wanted fugitive from justice.
Moscow, in turn, stated that the Moldovan authorities used "anti-democratic, totalitarian methods” in the election campaign, and the spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, accused the West of “obvious interference in the election process”.