The President of the country, Maia Sandu, who is running for a second presidential term, stated that Moldova faced an unprecedented attack on freedom and democracy both on election day and in the past months. According to the head of state, there is "evidence and information indicating that the target of the criminal group was to buy 300,000 votes," IPN reports.
In a press briefing held around 1:00 AM, Maia Sandu declared that criminal groups, together with foreign forces, attacked the country with tens of millions of euros, lies, and propaganda to lead the citizens and the country into a zone of uncertainty and instability.
"The scale of the fraud is unprecedented. The goal was to undermine a democratic exercise, to instill fear and panic in society. We will not give up defending freedom and democracy. We are waiting for the final results and will come back with decisions," Maia Sandu added.
Maia Sandu leads with 38.2% of the votes, after 91.4% of the protocols from the presidential elections have been processed. According to preliminary results, she will compete in the second round with Alexandr Stoianoglo, who has 29.5% of the vote.
