Today, Jess, Les, Amy, and Jeffrey discuss two pivotal elections that took place Sunday in Moldova. The first was the Presidential election, where current pro-western President Maia Sandu won the first round but did not win an outright majority, setting the stage for a run-off election with a pro-Russian candidate. The second vote was on a referendum enshrining EU accession into the Moldovan constitution, which passed by a razor-thin margin.

What do elections in Moldova mean for geopolitics? Do Moldovans worry that they may become another Ukraine? Were the outcomes of these votes a surprise given Russian efforts to influence them?

Check out the answers to these questions and more in this episode of Fault Lines.

Check out the sources that helped shape our expert's discussion!

https://apnews.com/article/moldova-elections-eu-referendum-russia-325cb2c13beb1d76565a6e2aadef971a

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/20/world/europe/moldova-election-russia-eu.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/how-russia-targeting-moldovas-path-eu

https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russia-poses-long-term-threats-moldova%E2%80%99s-european-integration-beyond-october-elections

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/19/moldova-election-protection-biden-russia-00184429

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