Moldova votes to amend constitution with clause on European Union membership

Moldovans have defied an “unprecedented” campaign of Russian electoral interference and voted in favour of ­joining the European Union — by a margin of less than a single percentage point. The referendum was held against a backdrop of bribery on an industrial scale. Moscow and its local networks were accused of having spent $100 million trying to buy the votes of as many as 300,000 people, more than 10 per cent of the population. It was a symbolically significant step towards the West by a country partly under de facto Russian occupation that has long been seen by the Kremlin as part of its sphere of influence. The pro-EU campaign won just under 50.5 per cent of the vote. A little over 49.5 per cent opposed the plan to amend the constitution with a clause committing the country to seek ­membership of the bloc.
Read the full article here: The Times