"Civilian foreign interference watchdogs say Russia is flooding the overseas voter communities with cash, including one advertising campaign offering people 500 to be election observers in the EU with the lure of bonuses of up to 30,000 for evidence of voter fraud. They are basically incentivising people to report any type of violation in exchange for money. We think that it might be a preparation to say the election was rigged, Victoria Olari, a researcher at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab in Chisinau, said."
"Earlier this week the president, Maia Sandu, warned that the independence of Moldova, a country of just 2.7 million people, was in danger after police arrested dozens of people accused of being in a Russia-backed plot to cause violence on the streets. She has called it the most consequential election in the small country's history, as it teeters between its powerful neighbour Russia and the EU, to which it is an accession candidate."
Russia is conducting an unprecedented vote-buying operation targeting Moldovan diaspora voters, using cash transfers and advertising campaigns that offer 500 to serve as election observers in the EU and bonuses up to 30,000 for evidence of voter fraud. The campaigns incentivize people to report any type of violation in exchange for money and may prepare claims that the election was rigged. Moldova borders Ukraine, includes pro-Russian voters, and is considered highly vulnerable to Russian expansion. Police arrested dozens accused of involvement in a Russia-backed plot to cause street violence. Diaspora voters provided up to 19% of the previous presidential ballot.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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