Moldovan EU Referendum Narrowly Passes, Pensioners Worry About Increased Natural Gas Prices
Presidential Palace in Chişnau, Moldova, June 16th, 2002
10/23/24
By: Daniel Miller
On Sunday, the Moldovan people narrowly passed a referendum to enshrine the goal of European Union (EU) accession into the constitution, with 50.46% in favor and 49.54% against. The polling data indicated that more people supported EU accession but, unsurprisingly, credible allegations of Russian meddling by way of buying off voters have been reported by authorities. Over the past few years, rural residents have admitted accepting money to be bused into Chişnau, the country’s capital city, to protest against the pro-Western government led by President Maia Sandu, whose re-election bid looks promising in the runoff on November 3rd.
Sandu, who received 42.45% of the vote against several pro-Russian candidates, will face former prosecutor general Alexandr Stoianoglo, who is currently under investigation for corruption. He received 26% of the vote.
In Transnistria, the autonomous breakaway region in the east that borders Ukraine, the people had issues with finding transportation to the nearest voting stations outside its borders. To my surprise, there were reports which showed that many Transnistrians also supported the referendum. One of my sources within the region told me that the line to cross the border was too long for her to wait, but that they were satisfied with the results they had a young son whose future would likely be brighter because of it. I was told that it is mainly the younger generations who support the change, which is the same case in the rest of Moldova.
Their biggest concern was pensioners being able to afford natural gas to heat their homes over the winter because Russia is ending its supply to the country beginning on January 1st, 2025. The country will start receiving its gas from Azerbaijan and prices will increase, which will particularly affect the pensioners since they receive the equivalent of around $150 per month.
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