Facing accusations of massive interference in Moldova’s presidential elections, Russia declared the voting “undemocratic and unfair.” The current head of state, pro-Western politician Maria Sandu, won her second term in office over a pro-Russian opponent, Alexandr Stoianoglo, in the second round of voting on November 3. On November 5, the Kremlin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov asserted that Moldova’s presidential elections were not democratic: “These [Moldovan presidential] elections were neither democratic nor fair. They were full of electoral manipulations.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that “violations during the election process were so widespread and obvious” that even the observation mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) “could not turn a blind eye to them in its preliminary conclusions.” Both the Kremlin’s and the Foreign Ministry’s claims are misleading. OSCE/ODIHR reported that Moldova’s November 3 presidential runoff was efficiently and professionally conducted, providing voters with genuine political alternatives. Additionally, candidates were able to campaign freely. The presidential race saw increased negative …