There is now a heated discussion about what society’s attitude towards those tens of thousands of voters who agreed to sell their votes in the presidential election and the constitutional referendum of October 20. Society’s attitude to them should be like towards perpetrators or like towards victims? From the same angle, it is treated the problem of those thousands of activists who participated in the organization of mass vote buying and whose names became known through not entirely legal means. The experts invited to the public debate entitled "Russia's interferences in the choice of Moldova: goals, manifestations, effects" discussed the causes, methods and goals of the mass corruption of voters, including through foreign interference in the election and in the civilizational choice of the Moldovan citizens.
Igor Boțan, the permanent expert of IPN’s project, said that elections are a form of participation of citizens in the sociopolitical life of the state – an important institution for the functioning of the political system and political regime and their legitimacy. Thus, elections are the process of electing MPs and officials by voting. Elections ensure systematic renewal and the accountability of the government, thus protecting society from stagnation, abuse, and the danger of dictatorship.
"The country’s choice is the direction of development. Developed and powerful countries create their own political and economic systems, thus establishing centers of gravity towards which other countries that share the same values and weak ones that want to join the successful ones turn. This kind of aspiration, supported by concrete actions, can be called the choice of countries. For example, now two countries, the former Soviet republics Moldova and Georgia, are making a choice between the EU and the "Russian World",” explained the expert.
As for foreign interference, according to Igor Boțan, it represents interference by one state in the internal affairs of another state, in breach of its sovereignty. The intervention is prohibited by the UN Charter, this principle being the basis of international relations. By protecting the independence of weaker states, the principle of non-intervention aims to protect them from the interference and pressure of the most powerful states. The principle of non-interference is applied in the sphere of interstate relations rather than in humanitarian activities.
Andrei Curăraru, public policy expert of WatchDog Community, said that what a hybrid war looks like and how a foreign state gets involved in the internal affairs of the Republic of Moldova could be seen at the current election. It was also seen how a poor and unprotected country like the Republic of Moldova can protect itself from such attacks in which unimaginable amounts are used. Police data show that in the last two months alone, about $39 million was used against the Republic of Moldova.
According to the expert, the most vulnerable social strata are used to influence the results of the election. The election data show that young people aged between 18 and 25 and also those who are older voted very actively. The latter are the ones who were primarily the target of this electoral corruption. However, what happened in the Republic of Moldova is the triumph of democracy over the hybrid war. It is the triumph of the will of the people, including the citizens from the diaspora, even if, in an attempt to divide society, some say that the Moldovans abroad should not participate in elections.
The WatchDog expert argued that, regardless of interference, the people must vote so that the rule of law, democratic processes are ensured and the will of the people is paramount. The elections in Moldova will go through all kinds of challenges in the coming periods, with a lot of interference from outside, because Russia does not want to allow Moldova to escape from its gray area of influence, in which Moldova remains helpless and poor because it can be easier influenced there.
Daniel Vodă, the Prime Minister's spokesman, said that in the 33 years of democracy, since the Republic of Moldova gained independence, the elections were held in compliance with all norms and this fact was confirmed by international organizations. What happened in 2024 – this massive vote buying - showed that democracy is not given forever and it must be defended.
According to him, these elections are about bought votes and it is very important for all members of society to think about it. All this takes place against the background of narratives that the citizens’ vote does not matter because the decision will be made by others in their place. In a democracy, any vote counts. Voting is an essential element in democratic processes. All the citizens of the Republic of Moldova must help combat the narratives that others decide for them because every citizen has a vote, which represents the power.
Daniel Vodă said that the phenomenon of electoral corruption was massive and police data show that the Shor criminal group, through the created system, managed to involve hundreds of thousands of people. "More than 180,000 citizens were involved in this "pyramid" and the most dangerous thing is that they had levers to influence more than 300,000 votes. We also saw other evidence, for example, how the platform of a Russian bank was used, through which more than 1.3 million messages were sent and this fact was confirmed by documents. However, we see a victory of democracy despite the wishes of particular forces, including from outside, to influence the democratic processes in Moldova. The citizens, regardless of the language of communication, the region in which they live, were able to firmly reject these attempts. The people must mobilize and defend their democracy,” said the official.
The public debate entitled "Russia's interference in the choice of Moldova: goals, manifestations, effects" was held as part of IPN’s project "Development of political culture through public debates". IPN Agency carries out the project with support from the German Hanns Seidel Foundation.
