Moldovan President Maia Sandu has accused Russia of buying voters in this weekend's local elections by injecting funds into pro-Russian political parties. This was reported by Reuters.
Maia Sandu, who had previously condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and accused Moscow of attempting to change the government through a coup d'état, noted that within two months Russia had sent a significant amount to finance "criminal groups." This amount is equivalent to almost 5 million US dollars and was directed to support a banned party led by fugitive businessman Ilan Shor.
The president urged voters to support her allies at the polls on Sunday to show support for her vision of Moldova's EU integration.
"Russia used to buy the people who ran Moldova," Sandu said, referring to the corruption scandals ahead of the 2020 elections.
"It no longer has that option. Now it is buying Moldovan citizens. The Kremlin uses different categories of people... There are people who work for the Kremlin, and they go to Moscow for money," she said.
Sandu called on Moldovan law enforcement agencies to take measures to bring the guilty parties to justice.
Moldova's local elections on Sunday are considered an important step in assessing President Sandu's pro-European course.
She received significant support for her policy at a massive rally in Chisinau in May, but support in smaller towns and rural areas was less pronounced.
Moldova recently blocked access to Russian news sites ahead of the elections. Russia condemned the move as an attempt to limit Moldovans' access to "alternative points of view" and accused the president of stoking anti-Russian sentiment.
