On Monday morning, with more than 99% of the votes tabulated, official figures showed that 50.31% of the votes were yes and 49.69% were no.
Since the Moldovan diaspora is generally in favor of stronger links with the EU, Moldovan media reported that many of the ballots that have not yet been tabulated were cast overseas and would probably lean yes.
Many have been surprised by the vote’s precarious character. The 2.6 million-person nation that borders Romania and Ukraine was predicted to easily pass the vote.
The current pro-EU president, Maia Sandu, has before criticized the close outcome as the result of foreign meddling in Moldovan affairs.
She called it a “unprecedented assault on democracy” in reference to the widely held claims that Russia bribed individuals to cast particular votes, a claim that Moscow disputes.
Ilan Shor, a pro-Russian politician and businessman from Moldova who now resides in Russia, stated last month that he would spend money to persuade “as many people as possible” to vote against or abstain from the EU referendum.
Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, stated on Monday that Sandu would have to provide “evidence” to support her allegations of foreign meddling in the vote.
