#International Republican Institute (IRI)

[rhk111sblog]

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is now trying to interfere with the upcoming Elections in Indonesia in February 2024 to install Pro-United States (US) Politicians in the Government there

[hatutannews]

Survey IRI: Timor-Leste Enfrenta Problema Boot iha Ekonomia

Hatutan.com, (06 Maiu 2023), Díli—Survey ka sondajen ne’ebé halo hosi International Republican Institute (IRI) hatudu katak Timor-Leste nia problema importante liu iha tinan sira ikus ne’e mak ekonomia.  Continue reading Untitled

[saxafimedianetwork]

Somaliland: A Democratic Beacon Of Hope In A Dangerous Part Of The World

#Democratic partners that work to uphold the #RuleOfLaw & stand up to #terrorists are a rarity in the greater #MiddleEast & #Africa. The time has come for the #USA to start examining whether or not #Somaliland may be a #partner worth #recognizing & embracing.

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[mariacallous]

As Moldovans prepare to go to the polls on Oct. 20, it looks like another round of the familiar geopolitical standoff between Russia and the West over the countries in Moscow’s former empire and sphere of influence. In a crucial referendum, Moldovans will vote on whether to pursue membership in the European Union. They must also choose between Maia Sandu, the pro-EU incumbent president with a reformist agenda, and a cohort of pro-Russian candidates of varying degrees of radicalism.

Russia is deploying its usual catalog of influence operations as it tries to undermine the small country’s path toward Western institutions. The evidence of Russian meddling is abundant, and the sums Moscow is funneling to its proxies are unprecedented in Moldovan politics. Besides paying tens of thousands of Moldovans to vote against joining the EU and financing pro-Moscow candidates, Russia has also doubled down on its usual tactic of using shady oligarchs to try to capture the state. Finally, there is Transnistria—a Russian-occupied sliver of Moldova next to Ukraine. It is a typical frozen conflict, and it is another tried-and-true strategy for Moscow to assert pressure on countries it wants to control. Although the threat of a Russian invasion of Moldova from Transnistria is currently extremely low because Russia is busy fighting Ukraine, that could always change in the future.

But the jostling of pro-Russian political forces in Moldova ahead of the election is hardly a sign of Moscow’s strength and sophistication. Instead, the Kremlin seems to have failed to adapt its election interference strategies to the new realities of Moldovan politics—particularly, the decline in support for Russia since its invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Today, even some of the pro-Russian politicians support EU membership and try to avoid being too closely associated with Moscow.

Long after Moldova gained its independence during the Soviet Union’s breakup in 1991, the Kremlin remained a potent force in its former possession’s politics. It awards its minions with generous financing and receptions in Moscow while punishing unfavorable Moldovan governments with trade bans and gas price hikes. Today, Russia still looms large in Moldovan public opinion, even though Moldova has severed most official ties between the two countries since the start of the invasion. According to a 2024 poll by the International Republican Institute (IRI), 71 percent of Moldovans surveyed said relations with Russia are currently very bad or somewhat bad, compared to only 11 percent who said that about the EU. But only 46 percent of Moldovans see Russia as a moderate or great threat to their country, while 53 percent rank it among the country’s most important economic partners—behind only the EU at 66 percent and neighboring Romania at 69 percent. Similarly, half of the people polled saw Russia as one of the country’s most important political partners, as well.

It is doubtful, however, whether Moscow can take advantage of this lingering popularity to turn around this weekend’s vote, which is expected to come out in favor of Sandu and EU membership. Moldova’s left-leaning parties, which have historically been pro-Russian, still command around 40 percent support. But they have struggled to adjust their narratives to Russia’s brutal war next door.

Since the invasion started, many on the Moldovan left have worked to cast off their image as Russian stooges. Some, like the popular mayor of Chisinau, Ion Ceban, and former Prime Minister Ion Chicu, have tried to reinvent themselves as centrist pro-Europeans. They have abandoned their former party, the powerful Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM), which is much tainted by past cooperation with the Kremlin, and founded their own political movements. Their new pro-EU views have elicited much skepticism, but they have already captured around 10 percent support, principally among Moldovans who are both unhappy with Sandu and disenchanted with Moscow.

The rest of the PSRM has proved less agile. The party’s leader, former Moldovan President Igor Dodon, is notorious for his close ties to Moscow. But with the presidential election looming, the party tried to adapt to Russia’s waning sway by sidelining Dodon and nominating former Prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo as a candidate. Stoianoglu, while also stressing the need for cooperation with Moscow, has a record of supporting EU integration and is widely perceived as a moderate figure. It is difficult to determine the real state of his relations with the Kremlin, but his cautious rhetoric and low-budget campaign suggest that Russia is not fully behind him.

Russian money appears to be channeled elsewhere this time. Moldovan police recently stated that during September alone, more than $15 million was transferred from Russia to bank accounts connected to the fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor.

Shor, who was sentenced to prison in absentia for his role in a scam involving almost $1 billion extracted from Moldovan banks, embodies another typical Kremlin strategy: influence a country through Russia-friendly oligarchs. This has long been an important part of Russia’s strategy for gaining control of Ukraine, Georgia, and other countries.

But betting on Shor, who holds Russian citizenship and resides in Moscow, suggests that the Kremlin has reached the limits of its oligarch strategy. Indeed, it would be hard to find a more inept figure to have entrusted with winning over Moldovan voters. Shor is widely seen as a corrupt crook; at 58 percent, he has the highest unfavorable rating among a long roster of politicians in the IRI poll. He is so unpopular that researchers noted that his activities actually boost support for Sandu. His talking points—lambasting the EU and touting the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union—seem more attuned to appeal to his friends in the Kremlin than to most Moldovan voters.

For Moscow, Shor is a reliable proxy because he is well-versed in the shady side of Moldovan politics, structures his campaign in a way that corresponds to the Kremlin’s world outlook, and is such a toxic figure that he couldn’t betray Russia even if he wanted to. This latter quality—absolute loyalty—has become Moscow’s key and almost only criterion for choosing allies.

The few elections Shor’s movement has won—such as regional votes in Gagauzia and Orhei—came with accusations of massive vote-buying. If current reports of vote-buying are true, it’s unclear how effective that tactic will be. Most of the 130,000 Moldovans that have reportedly been bribed by Shor’s associates to vote against EU membership were, in all likelihood, already favorably inclined toward Moscow. In the presidential election, neither Shor’s candidate Vasile Bolea nor Shor’s Victory bloc were permitted to register due to financial irregularities.

Shor may still throw his support behind one of the opposition candidates by this weekend’s vote, but that is unlikely to make much of a difference. The election promises to deal a major blow to Russia’s lingering influence in Moldova. Recent polls suggest that the referendum will confirm majority support for EU integration, while the presidential election will see Sandu reelected by a wide margin, with the moderate left opposition prevailing over pro-Russian radicals.

In freeing itself from Russian influence, Moldova still faces the hurdle of next year’s parliamentary elections, where a clear and overwhelming victory by Sandu and her allies is not guaranteed. But Russia’s war has brought Moldovan politics closer to the point where all major forces agree that integration with the West is good for the country, an evolution many other post-communist states have already undergone.

This reality dooms pro-Russian string-pullers like Shor to languish on the fringes of political life, even if Moldova one day permits him to return without serving his prison sentence. But the ossified leadership in the Kremlin doesn’t seem to care. Moscow prefers loyal minions and familiar methods, even if they end up driving Moldovans even farther away from Russia.

[thoughtlessarse]

Political apathy is gripping Armenia at a time when the government is making a geopolitical pivot away from Russia and toward the West, a new poll shows. The survey, conducted by the International Republican Institute (IRI) in mid-September, indicates that the population’s trust in Armenian politicians has reached alarming lows. The data, gathered through telephone interviews with 1,503 citizens and displaced residents from Nagorno-Karabakh, reveals growing disillusionment with politics. The most trusted political figure, according to the poll, is Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, but his trust rating stood at a paltry 16 percent. The trust percentage of other prominent figures, including Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, pro-government politician Aram Z. Sargsyan, Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan and former president Robert Kocharyan, all were in the low single digits. A whopping 61 percent said they did not trust any politician. The results reflect a precipitous decline in public faith of politicians since 2018, when mass protests swept Pashinyan to power amid the Velvet Revolution. The Pashinyan government’s inability to meet initial expectations for rapid reform, combined with Armenia’s decisive defeat in the Second Karabakh War, have acted as the main catalysts for changing attitudes. Despite the rock-bottom levels of trust in politicians, more Armenians (46 percent) believe the country is headed in the right direction as opposed to the wrong direction (40 percent), the poll found. Meanwhile, 58 percent said they would vote ‘yes’ if a referendum were held in Armenia on whether the country should join the European Union.

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[thefreethoughtprojectcom]

The leaked docs also reveal the US govt-funded International Republican Institute even funded “transgender dance performances,” to achieve a national “power shift.” Institute staff said the activists “would cooperate with IRI to destabilize Bangladesh’s politics.”

Read More: https://thefreethoughtproject.com/deep-state/leaked-files-expose-covert-us-government-plot-to-destabilize-bangladeshs-politics

#TheFreeThoughtProject

[cyberbenb]

The majority of Ukrainian population believes in a better future and does not plan to leave their cities

The International Republican Institute presented the eighth large municipal survey among Ukrainians. It shows that the vast majority of the population believes in a better future, positively evaluates the quality of services provided by local authorities, and plans to stay in their cities during and after the war with Russia. This survey was conducted among 16,800 respondents in 21 cities of Ukraine and is one of the most comprehensive sections of public opinion in Ukraine.

“The fact that many Ukrainians do not want to move in the face of a serious threat from Russia is a testament to their resolve,” said Stephen Nix, IRI’s senior regional director for Eurasia. He also mentioned that such results demonstrated citizens’ trust in local self-government in very difficult times.

Residents plan to remain in their current communities despite the worsening of the wartime and post-war situation. From 45% to 61% plan to stay within their city, even if the situation near it becomes difficult because of hostilities. In addition, from 87% to 96% of residents in each of the surveyed cities said that they were not going to leave their city after the war. When asked how they see the future, from 74% to 90% of citizens answered that it was “rather encouraging”.

It is interesting that the majority of the population feels proud of the city in which they live, the answers in all cities exceed 50%. Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Vinnytsia are in the top 5 positions of the survey.

Full survey information

[pepikhipik]

Velvyslanectví Ruska na Slovensku využívá Facebook pro informační operace

Velvyslanectví Ruské federace na Slovensku je prodlouženou rukou Kremlu. Jeho profil na Facebooku je nejaktivnější ze všech ruských a čínských velvyslanectví v Evropě. Od začátku války Ruska proti Ukrajině na něm bylo zveřejněno téměř 5 tisíc příspěvků.

International Republican Institute (IRI) spustil monitorování aktivit ruských a čínských velvyslanectví v Evropě na Facebooku. Nejaktivnější ambasádou působící v evropském státě je velvyslanectví Ruské federace na Slovensku. Od začátku války do 3. dubna 2023 zveřejnilo na svém facebookovém profilu až 4 972 příspěvků.

[hardynwa]

FG, Atiku, Obi trade words over Tinubu’s victory

The Federal Government and the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; and the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi, were once again at one another’s jugular over the outcome of the 2023 presidential poll, yesterday. The Federal Government through the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, fired the first salvo when it urged Atiku, Obi and other candidates to drop their petitions at the tribunal because they deserved to lose the election won the All Progressives Congress, APC’s, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Countering, the LP declared that the APC-led Federal Government “murdered sleep” by allegedly rigging the 2023 general elections. Also, the PDP insisted that Atiku won the presidential balloting and alleged that the Federal Government was plotting to blackmail the President Election Petition Tribunal to rule in favour of Tinubu You deserve to lose 2023 elections, FG tells opposition The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, advised the opposition to stop their endless complaints over the 2023 presidential election which they lost woefully, saying they know very well that they deserve to lose the election because of their overconfidence and complacency. In a statement issued in Abuja, the Minister said Mr. President’s analysis on the reasons for the opposition’s loss in the 2023 elections was incontrovertible. He said the President deserves nothing but accolades for delivering undoubtedly the best election in Nigeria’s history, adding that the tempestuous but predictable reaction to the President’s comments by the opposition had shown them for what they are: shameless sore losers. “President Muhammadu Buhari lived up to his billing by delivering a free, fair and credible election, and his legacy is assured. The President would rather lose his state and many of his party’s strongholds than tamper with the fidelity of the election, and that is why he provided a level playing field for all parties,’’ Mohammed said. He said the opposition’s overconfidence going into the election stemmed in part from the blitzkrieg of social media propaganda as well as faulty and procured opinion polls, which were apparently meant to hoodwink their foreign backers and a section of the international media into uncritically reporting that they were coasting home to victory, when they were indeed heading into the ravine of defeat. The Minister said the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, won the presidential election fair and square, clinching the majority of the votes cast and surpassing the constitutionally-stipulated 25% of votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the states in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory. “Going by the results, none of the opposition parties met any of the conditions stipulated for winning the presidential election. They didn’t even come close, in spite of their pre-election grandstanding. ‘’They (opposition) keep leaning on some international observers to justify their fraudulent claim that the election was rigged. They conveniently forgot what Ambassador Johnnie Carson, the revered US diplomat who co-led the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI) International Election Observation Mission to Nigeria said: that the APC candidate undoubtedly won the polls. ‘’They also forgot that the African Union Election Observation Mission to Nigeria said the atmosphere was generally calm and peaceful in 95% of the polling units visited,’’ he said, adding that it is on the strength of these reports that many nations, including the US and the UK, wasted no time in congratulating the victorious APC Presidential Candidate. Alhaji Mohammed slammed the opposition for continuously seeking to mislead the world by clutching at the weak straw that results were not immediately uploaded onto the IReV Portal, as if the portal has any role to play in the collation of results. ‘’The opposition’s insinuation that the failure to immediately upload the result of the presidential election onto IReV affected the credibility of the election is a fraud. It is an act of blackmail and deceit by desperate individuals. ‘’The opposition Labour Party, in particular, will go down in the history books as the first-ever distant third-place finisher in a presidential election anywhere to have bold-facedly claimed victory,’’ he said. FG, APC murdered sleep by rigging 2023 polls — LP Countering, Acting National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh, came down hard on Alhaji Lai Mohammed over his attempt to echo President Buhari’s thoughts on the outcome of the 2023 general elections.It equally accused the Minister of “wasting scarce public funds junketing around the United States and the United Kingdom ‘’ in futile attempt to whitewash the disasterous 8 year rule of the outgoing Buhari administration. Ifoh said: “We just want the Minister to know that by rigging the 2023 general election, himself, his party, All Progressives Congress and the leader of the party, President Buhari have murdered sleep and they do not deserve peace. The LP Spokesman explained that it was appalling that the Minister chose to progress in the error laden prognosis of his employer, President Buhari about the outcome of the 2023 general elections. He said: “A few days after President Buhari made that heavily flawed and erroneous remarks on the outcome of the 2023 presidential election claiming that opposition parties lost the presidential election due to their “overconfidence, complacency and bad tactical moves”, it is heart-wrenching to hear the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, still progressing with that warped, illogical and incongruous concept. “We would rather not join issues with a man who is famous for constantly prescribing doses of expired and ineffectual propaganda to Nigerians. “ His ill-fated and hugely failed trip to the United Kingdom and United States where he attempted to redeem the grossly battered democratic credentials of this present administration; spending millions of tax payers money to defend an indefensible action is yet another tragedy of President Buhari’s 8 years leadership. “It is only the blind that will continue to insist that the 2023 presidential election which was massively rigged was free, fair and credible. “As we have said earlier, the opposition political parties allegedly lost the election because the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC jettisoned the electoral act, having not uploaded the result from the polling unit in real time as promised and in so doing, created room for riggers to have a field day. “The election witnessed the unprecedented magnitude of violence, ballot snuffing, snatching and manipulations of result from the collation centres using thugs, security agencies, which included police, army amongst others. “All these issues and a lot more were captured, well documented and have been taken to the appeal tribunal and the matters are ongoing. Mr. Lai Mohammed need not preempt the tribunal as his actions are contemptuous and could be used against him.” Atiku won 2023 Presidential polls, PDP insists On its part, the PDP has insisted that its Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, won the February 25, 2023 Presidential election based on the actual votes cast at the Polling Units across the country. The party described claims by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, that the opposition lost the election, as subjudice and part of a series of attempts by the APC-led Federal Executive to bully and blackmail the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. This was contained in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Debo Ologunagba, in Abuja, yesterday. Ologunagba said: “Nigerians are invited to note that Lai Mohammed’s comment is coming after President Buhari made a similar subjudice comment in his widely condemned attempt to justify the rigging of the Presidential election, which case is pending before the Tribunal. “It is indeed appalling that Lai Mohammed could attempt to defend the outcome of a fraudulently conducted election which has been adjudged as the worst in the history of elections in Nigeria and which has attracted nationwide and international outrage against the Buhari administration. “By stating that President Buhari deserved “accolades” for conducting a globally condemned Presidential election and describing well-meaning Nigerians as “shameless sore losers”, Lai Mohammed has further confirmed the complicity of the Buhari administration, in which he serves as mouthpiece, in one of the most reprehensible election swindles in the history of democracy. “ The party however said it was not surprised that Lai Mohammed will continue in the trajectory of the Buhari-led APC administration which is notorious for lying, deceit and falsehood. This, the PDP said, was because Nigerians are aware that by the authentic results obtained from the Polling Units, Atiku Abubakar and not the APC candidate met all the conditions stipulated for the winning of the Presidential election. According to the party, this situation explained why “the compromised Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) refused to transmit directly and announce results as obtained from the Polling Units as required by law.” The opposition party stated further that ot was for the umpteenth time cautioning the APC and the Buhari-led Federal Executive against its furtive attempts to bully the judiciary in the handling of the Presidential election petitions pending before the Tribunal. “The facts of the rigging of the February 25, 2023 Presidential election are well known to Nigerians and the PDP will not relent until it reclaims its mandate at the Tribunal.” Ologunagba added. VANGUARD Read the full article

[wapcodehubsite]

EU Reacts To Report Calling For Sack Of Nigeria’s Electoral Body, INEC Chairman, Yakubu

According to a letter trending on social media, the EU, was said to have noted that the Saturday’s election were marred by numerous cases of electoral malpractice The European Union, EU, in Nigeria has dismissed a report that the EU in partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI) are calling for the sack of the Chairman of the Independent…

[nationwidenews]

NDI/IRI Observer Missions rate ongoing Nigeria general election low

The ongoing general election in Nigeria has been rated very low by the International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) Joint Election Observation Mission (IEOM). While presenting preliminary statement on the Presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria on Monday in Abuja, the leader, Dr Joyce Banda, former President of Malawi, congratulated the people…

[saxafimedianetwork]

IRI: Somaliland’s 2005 Parliamentary Election Assessment Report

@IRIglobal #recognizes & applauds the efforts by the government, @SomalilandNEC, #politicalparties, & the people of #Somaliland in making these #elections a success. In Sept 2005 #parliamentary election the people of SL were able to cast their ballots in a peaceful manner & without significant intimidation.

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[mariacallous]

Democracies globally are under assault from a network of autocrats and malign actors seeking to undermine democracy, elections, and freedoms. Moldova, which just held its presidential election and a constitutional referendum on its European future on October 20, is the latest country impacted by an autocratic wave of electoral interference consisting of massive disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks. Moldovans face a difficult electoral environment as they return to the polls for the runoff election on November 3. 

It is reported that Russia and Moldovan proxies have orchestrated a massive, unprecedented vote-buying effort by funneling money directly to 138,488 Moldovans ahead of the election to influence people’s choice for president and on the referendum. Incredibly, the number of Moldovans who received Russian money may be higher.

Kremlin electoral interference is not unique to Moldova. We see similar pernicious attempts by Russia to destabilize democracies and sabotage elections globally, including in the United States. Massive Russian interference in Moldova, and this past week in Georgia’s parliamentary election, are ominous warning signs for American officials and voters in the lead up to the November elections. 

Partners of Moldova, including the U.S., European Union (EU), and the transatlantic community, must continue to support Moldovans as they prepare to counter Russian-sponsored interference in the lead up to the second round of the presidential election on November 3. U.S., EU, and NATO direct engagement with the Moldovan government, civil society, and the private sector was pivotal to counter massive Russian disinformation and cyberattacks in the pre-election period. 

Moldova stands at a critical juncture in its struggle for democracy and security. In addition to voting for their next president, Moldovans showed their mettle to advance democracy by passing a close referendum to enshrine EU integration in their constitution. This came despite Russia’s influence operations to undermine the ballot measure and pull Moldova away from Europe.

Moldova’s democracy and election bent but did not break on October 20 despite Russia’s best efforts. However, the stakes remain high and Moldova’s impressive resilience, democratic progress, and steps toward EU membership hang in the balance in the November runoff. 

Russian influence operations 

Russia’s consistent efforts to destabilize Moldova have only grown since its illegal invasion of Ukraine, including in Moldova’s local elections in 2023. Over the past two years, the U.S., European Union, United Kingdom (U.K.), Canada, and other countries have responded by sanctioning Russian officials and Moldovan actors undermining Moldova’s democracy, elections, economy, and security.

In the lead up to the October election, the U.S., Canada, and U.K. publicly shared concerns of Moscow’s attempts to influence Moldova’s democratic institutions. Days ahead of the election, Moldovan authorities announced they had identified 100 provocateurs and arrested four people allegedly trained in Russia and the Balkans to cause election unrest. 

On October 21, Moldova’s pro-democracy President Maia Sandu confirmed fears about wide-scale election interference, stating that Moldovan authorities had “clear evidence that these criminal groups aimed to buy 300,000 votes,” calling the influence operation “a fraud of unprecedented scale.” If confirmed, with a voting population of just over 3 million, the scale of the alleged fraud is immense. The International Republican Institute’s (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) released preliminary statements post-election underscoring Russian interference including vote-buying, illegal party financing, propaganda, and cyberattacks.

The electoral landscape 

Since Moldova’s independence, Russia has used proxies at the national, regional, and local levels to thwart Moldovan EU aspirations and to prevent democracy and rule of law from taking root. Pro-Russian Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, who has been sanctioned by the U.S, is a prime example of Putin’s cadre of enablers in Moldova. Shor is accused by Moldovan police of funneling $39 million through a Russian bank in September and October to influence voters in Moldova. Like in Ukraine and the region generally, Russia’s malign actions and its proxies have had a devastating impact on Moldova’s democratic, economic, and security progress–its presidential election is no exception. 

President Sandu, who received 42.49% of the vote, will now go head-to-head with challenger Alexandr Stoianoglo, former prosecutor general of Moldova, who received 25.95%. Stoianoglo is backed by the Russian Party of Socialists (PSRM), led by Putin-ally former President Igor Dodon. Stoianoglo was dismissed from his post as prosecutor general by President Sandu after being arrested by national anti-corruption officers in October 2021 under various charges of corruption. Stoianoglo’s candidacy is also supported by Moscow-backed oligarch Shor’s electoral bloc. In 2023, Shor was convicted of stealing $1 billion from Moldovan banks. 

A decisive moment for Moldova 

On Sunday, Moldovans will determine their country’s political, economic, and security trajectory for decades to come. Elected on a pro-EU platform, President Sandu and the Party of Action and Solidarity-led government have diligently worked to maintain security and stability, foster democratic and anti-corruption progress, and secure EU candidate country status, including following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The results of Moldova’s upcoming presidential runoff will not only determine its domestic political direction and integration with Europe, but also its position in a region destabilized by ongoing conflict. Moldovans will decide whether their future will be theirs to determine or again undermined by malign actors, such as Putin’s Russia. Moldovans will again grapple with these same challenges, including Russian interference, in the lead up to their parliamentary elections in 2025. 

Moldova’s partners 

Time is short to support Moldovans as they pick their next president and fight to secure their democracy and EU integration. A collaborative effort with partners is needed now and in the future to address the Kremlin’s malign actions, disinformation, and election interference. It is not too early to focus on similar levels of partner engagement and support that will be needed in the lead up to Moldova’s 2025 elections. It is in the interest of the transatlantic community to help Moldova safeguard its hard-fought progress and democratic future and strengthen its position within Europe, while navigating current challenges. Moldova, the U.S., and Europe are stronger and more secure when democracies stand together. 

[zvaigzdelasas]

NED is starting to ramp up its funding in mongolia, tripling within 4 years 👁