A voter casts a ballot at a polling station, as the country holds a presidential election and a referendum on joining the European Union, in Chisinau, Moldova, 20 October 2024; Credit: Reuters/Vladislav Culiomza

CHISINAU (Reuters) - A knife-edge margin of 50.09% voted "yes" in Moldova's pivotal referendum on joining the European Union, partial results showed on Monday 21 October 2024, after President Maia Sandu said Sunday's twin votes had been marred by "unprecedented" outside interference.

The tight finish - with barely 1.5% of the ballots still to be counted - is far from the resounding endorsement of the pro-EU path that Sandu has pursued over four years at the helm of the small ex-Soviet republic tugged between Russia and the West.

A presidential election, which took place simultaneously, gave Sandu 42% of the vote and former prosecutor general Alexandr Stoianoglo 26%, paving the way for a tightly fought run-off between the two on 3 November 2024.

The vote goes to a second round if no candidate clears the 50% mark.

The two votes, which took place after a slew of allegations of election meddling, were seen as a test of the southeast European nation's aspirations to fully commit to joining the European Union, escaping Moscow's orbit for good.

Moldova began the long process of formal accession talks in June and under Sandu has aimed to join by 2030.

Stoianoglo has said that if he comes to power, he would develop a "balanced" foreign policy involving ties with the EU, Russia and the United States.

In the early hours of Monday, Sandu addressed Moldova's citizens, citing "clear evidence" that criminal groups working together with foreign forces hostile to Moldova's interests had sought to buy off 300,000 votes.

She said this amounted to "fraud of unprecedented scale".

"Their objective was to undermine a democratic process. Their intention was to spread fear and panic in society... We are waiting for the final results, and we will respond with firm decisions," she said.

As the early results came in late on Sunday 20 October 2024, some 57% of Moldovans initially appeared to have voted "no" in the referendum. As more ballots were counted, the "yes" vote gradually rose, overtaking "no" early on Monday morning.

Political analyst Valeriu Pasha said the "yes" vote had only snuck through because of unusually high voter turnout among the Moldovan diaspora living abroad who largely support EU integration.