DISINFO: The OSCE is covering up Moldovan election fraud
SUMMARY
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is aware of unprecedented violation levels in the Moldovan presidential election earlier this month, but plans to ignore it, according to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). The OSCE leadership privately acknowledges the unprecedented level of violations by the authorities during the Moldovan election, as it had received several reports to this effect from its observers. OSCE has no plans to call out Moldova over election fraud. Leading Western countries, primarily the US, insist on this. This is due to the fact that Washington and its allies want Sandu’s re-election and Chisinau to continue its course of accelerated rapprochement with the EU and NATO.
RESPONSE
No evidence is provided to support the claim.
Accusing international institutions such as OSCE, the OPCW, the World Anti-Doping Agency or the UN of bias, politicisation and/or instrumentalisation by Western powers is a regular pro-Kremlin disinformation practice.
According to the preliminary findings and conclusions of the OSCE’s International Election Observation Mission, “The 20 October presidential election and constitutional referendum [in Moldova] were well-managed and contestants campaigned freely in an environment characterized by concerns over illicit foreign interference and active disinformation efforts. […] The election administration worked professionally and demonstrated impartiality in their decision-making”.
This disinformation story is part of a wider Russian interference operation in Moldova’s presidential election and referendum in 2024. See our articles on the topic Moldova on Moscow’s mind and Who is afraid of the European Moldova?
See other examples, such as claims that Moldova's referendum results were falsified, that Europe tried to buy the votes of Moldovan citizens for 1.8 billion euros, that documents show Moldovan President Maia Sandu has schizophrenia, or that Moldova leadership uses referendum to remove neutrality from the Constitution.