INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Moldovaclaimed Wednesday that authorities in Russia were planning to weaken the countryâ $ s upcoming presidential election and a
referendum on joining the EU by bussing in voters to polling stations at the Moldovan Embassy in Moscow.Moldovaâ $ s Foreign Ministry said
it was alarmed by reports of Russia apparently preparing to â $ synthetically produce the impression of overcrowdingâ $ this Sunday at
thetwo ballot stations in Moscow.â $ [Moldova] contact the Russian authorities and other celebrations to refrain from actions that might
interfere with the electoral process through unlawful ways or synthetically create the look of crowds at the polling stations, â $ the
ministry said in a statement.There was no instant remark from the Russian authorities.Voters in Moldova and its diplomatic objectives abroad
will head to the surveys on Sunday to choose the countryâ $ s next president and vote on whether Moldovaâ $ s constitution need to be
amended to make joining the EU a main aspiration
Pro-European incumbent President Maia Sandy is the clear favorite versus 10 other candidates.The run-up to the election has been plagued by
allegations of a large vote-buying scheme funneled from Russia and connected to fugitive business owner and previous politician Ilan Shor,
who lives in Russia and was convicted of scams in absentia last year. The EU imposed sanctions on five individuals and one entity in
reaction to the supposed Russian disturbance, which the Kremlin denied this week
The EU, which granted Moldova candidate status after Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, also announced a record 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion)
in financial support for Moldova last week.The White House said Tuesday that Moscow has spent â $ millions of dollarsâ $ to finance its
preferred celebrations and spreading out disinformation on social media.Russiaâ $ s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharovacriticized
the Moldovan authorities earlier Wednesday for apparently printing out only 10,000 tallies for 500,000 Moldovans who live and operate in
Russia and are qualified to vote.She did not indicate the number of the Russia-based Moldovans were registered to vote this Sunday.A Message
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