Moldovan election observer tells RT she was ‘openly threatened’ at polling station in EU nation

RTEXCLUSIVE

An observer at a Moldovan presidential election polling station in the central Italian city of Perugia has told RT she faced threats from the local election committee. 

On Sunday, Moldovans at home and abroad voted for their new leader in an election that also involved a referendum on whether to include the nation’s EU aspirations in its constitution.

The observer, Larisa Brunescu, told RT by phone that election officials had allowed her into the polling station, but wanted to force her out once she tried to film what was going on inside.

“They told me I should not send any videos, [record] conversations, [send] figures, nothing,” Brunescu, who represents the Renaissance Party of former Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev, said.

According to Brunescu, at one point, she was told that the documents allowing her to be an observer were “not OK” and that she should leave.

The committee claimed her documents were not “filled out properly,” Brunescu said, which she denied. Election officials “were openly threatening” her, she added.

According to Brunescu, the committee also tried to prevent her from taking photos, and insisted that she could only report figures which they would provide . The officials looked at her “like dogs,” she added.

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 Hundreds of violations reported in Moldovan elections – opposition

The actions of the committee members “speak of some serious irregularities,” Brunescu believes. She claimed that she counted fewer than 1,000 voters at the polling station, though the committee had “4,000 ballots.” 

“They can rig the ballots,” she added, while acknowledging that she did not see the committee actually doing so.

Earlier on Sunday, Moldova’s opposition Victory alliance accused the authorities of allowing massive violations at the polling stations, claiming that hundreds of irregularities were reported during the first half of the day. The political bloc also stated that observers were outright banned from accessing some polling stations both at home and abroad “without any valid reasons.” Victory also accused the authorities of suppressing votes that it deemed undesirable.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu was seeking a second term, running against Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor general, and Renato Usatii, a former mayor of Moldova’s second largest city, Balti, with seven other candidates also running.

Five out of ten candidates criticized the referendum, arguing that it was held only to ensure Sandu’s reelection. On Sunday evening, it was reported that most voters rejected the pro-EU constitutional changes.

Moldova has been actively pushing for EU and NATO membership since 2020, when Sandu, a critic of Russia and supporter of EU integration, came to power. The opposition has criticized the president for failing to resolve the economic and energy crisis in the country, which is among the poorest in Europe.