Paulo Rangel did not hide his support for Maia Sandu, of whom he says he has been a personal friend for almost a decade, and joined Salomé Zurabishvili’s calls against the “electoral fraud” that she accuses.
Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel on Wednesday reiterated Portugal’s concern over accusations of electoral fraud in Georgia and expressed support for the re-election of Moldova’s president on Sunday.
In statements to Agência Lusa in London, where he was received by his counterpart, David Lammy, Rangel reiterated the Government’s position of “clear condemnation of the existing situation.”
Referring to a joint statement by the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Inês Domingos, with other European governments, the Minister indicated his support for the calls of the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili.“which have been calls precisely to guarantee that the results are transparent and that the effective will of Georgians is not conditioned either by government actions or by interference from foreign powers.”
The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation this Wednesday into alleged fraud in the legislative elections and asked the country’s president, the pro-European Salomé Zurabishvili, to detail her accusations against the ruling party, declared the winner of the vote. .
Further from the EU? Georgia elections may have been the subject of a “Russian special operation”
Georgia’s electoral commission announced Tuesday that it would conduct a partial recount of the legislative elections, while Zurabishvili refused to acknowledge the results. and called on Georgians to protest in the streets.
The opposition accuses the (pro-Russian) Georgian Dream party, led by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, of bringing Georgia closer to Russia and away from possible membership in the EU and NATO, two goals enshrined in the country’s Constitution.
Portugal and 12 other European Union (EU) countries also criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s “premature visit” to Georgia to show support for his Georgian counterpart, Irakli Kobajidze.
The European Commission highlighted that the leader of the country currently holding the rotating EU presidency “was not given any mandate” to speak on behalf of the EU.
Regarding the second round of the presidential elections in Moldova, Paulo Rangel did not hide his support for the president, Maia Sandu, of whom he says he has been a personal friend for almost a decade..
“She is a great defender of Europe and has extraordinary personal and physical courage. We have a deep desire, without wanting to interfere, obviously, that she can win these elections so that the pro-European path, which despite all the setbacks and once again foreign interference and conditioning, won in the referendum by a very margin. narrow, it can be carried out by someone who really has the desire to bring Moldova to the European Union,” Rangel explained to Lusa.
Sandu came first in the first round, with around 42% of the votes, and will compete in the second round, on Sunday, with the pro-Russian candidate Alexander Stoianoglo, who obtained around 26% of the votes.
Moldova gives a tenuous “yes” to joining the European Union. President denounces that there was “unprecedented fraud”
The head of state denounced the existence of Russian interference in this electoral process, an accusation supported by authorities of the EU and the United States of America.
This month, 50.4% of Moldovan voters voted “yes” in a national referendum to including EU membership as a national objective in the Moldovan Constitution.
Source: Observadora
