CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) 鈥 Moldovans voted by a razor-thin majority in favor of securing the country鈥檚 path toward European Union membership, electoral data showed Monday, after the pro-Western president accused foreign interference and 鈥渃riminal groups鈥 of trying to undermine the vote in the former Soviet republic.
The 鈥淣o鈥 vote appeared to be ahead until the last few thousand votes were counted from the large diaspora of Moldova, whose authorities have accused Russia of trying to destabilize the country.
With 99.41% of votes counted in the EU referendum held Sunday, the 鈥淵es鈥 vote stood at 50.39% and the 鈥淣o鈥 vote at 49.61%, according to the Central Electoral Commission.
A loss would have been a political disaster for the pro-Western government, which strongly supported the pro-EU campaign.
On Monday, President Maia Sandu reiterated claims that unprecedented voter fraud and foreign interference had undermined the voting, calling it a 鈥渧ile attack鈥 on Moldova鈥檚 sovereignty.
鈥淯nfortunately, the justice system failed to do enough to prevent vote-rigging and corruption," she told a news conference. 鈥淗ere, too, we must draw a line, correct what went wrong, and learn the lesson. We heard you: we know we must do more to fight corruption.鈥
Moldovan authorities claim that Moscow has intensified a 鈥渉ybrid war鈥 campaign to destabilize the country and derail its EU path. The allegations include funding pro-Moscow opposition groups, spreading disinformation, and backing a major vote-buying scheme.
Russia has repeatedly denied it is interfering in Moldova.
Moldova applied to join the EU in the wake of Russia鈥檚 full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and was granted candidate status that summer, alongside Ukraine. Brussels agreed in June .
In Brussels, the EU鈥檚 executive branch, the European Commission, said its services had noted 鈥渦nprecedented interference and intimidation by Russia and its proxies, aiming to destabilize the democratic processes鈥 in Moldova, and it underlined its continued support for Moldova on its EU accession path.
Spokesperson Peter Stano told reporters that allegations of vote-buying, the bussing of voters and disinformation are only the most recent forms of Russian interference, and that attempts to undermine Moldova and its support for the EU have been going on for months.
EU Commission President told Moldova's people: 鈥淵ou鈥檝e done it again! In the face of Russia鈥檚 hybrid tactics, Moldova shows that it is independent, it is strong and it wants a European future!鈥
In the presidential race that was held at the same time, Sandu won the first round with 42% of the vote in a field of 11, short of an outright majority. She will face Alexandr Stoianoglo, a Russia-friendly former prosecutor general who outperformed polls with around 26% of the vote, in a runoff on Nov. 3.
By the time polling stations closed at 9 p.m. Sunday, more than 1.5 million voters 鈥 about 51% of eligible voters 鈥 had cast ballots, according to the Central Electoral Commission. Moldova has a population of about 2.5 million.
Cristian Cantir, a Moldovan associate professor of international relations at Oakland University, told The Associated Press that earlier polls might have 鈥渙verestimated the pro-EU feeling鈥 inside Moldova and the referendum would have failed to pass without votes from outside the country.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be particularly problematic because ... it鈥檚 going to feed into narratives that are pushed by the Kremlin and pro-Russian forces,鈥 he said.
The White House on Monday called the referendum a 鈥渉istoric step forward in Moldova鈥檚 European integration鈥 but warned that Russia would try to interfere in next month鈥檚 runoff in the presidential race.
鈥淭he last several months Moscow has dedicated millions of dollars towards these efforts,鈥 said U.S. national security spokesman John Kirby. 鈥淣ow, Russia did not succeed. The results demonstrate democracy is strong, as is the will and desire of the Moldovan people to advance toward European integration.鈥
In early October, Moldovan law enforcement said it had uncovered a massive vote-buying scheme orchestrated by Ilan Shor, an who currently lives in Russia, which paid 15 million euros ($16.2 million) to 130,000 people to undermine the two ballots.
Shor was of fraud and money laundering and sentenced to 15 years in prison in the case of $1 billion that went missing from Moldovan banks in 2014. He denied the allegations, saying the payments were legal and citing a right to freedom of expression. Shor鈥檚 populist Russia-friendly Shor Party was declared unconstitutional last year and banned.
On Thursday, Moldovan authorities foiled another plot in which more than 100 young Moldovans received training in Moscow from private military groups on how to create civil unrest around the two votes. Some also attended more advanced training in "guerrilla camps鈥 in Serbia and Bosnia, police said, and four people were detained for 30 days.
has been in power in Moldova since 2021, a year after Sandu won the presidency. A parliamentary election will be held next year.
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Associated Press writers Raf Casert and Lorne Cook contributed from Brussels; Aamer Madhani from Washington.
