Social Movements, Elections and Ephemera

Available collections (see details below)

• Presidential Election, 2020
• Presidential Election, 2024

The Moldova Collection is part of the East View Essentials: Election Ephemera – Belarus and Moldova package. Learn more

Presidential Election, 2020

The 2020 Presidential election, held on November 1, 2020, was one of the most hotly contested presidential elections in Moldova’s post-Soviet history. Fielding eight candidates from diverse political backgrounds, including the controversial pro-Russian incumbent president Igor Dodon, the elections saw the ultimate victory of Maia Sandu, who emerged victorious in the second-round head-to-head contest with Dodon after the first round of elections did not determine a clear winner. Sandu’s victory was not only deemed to be the next step in Moldova’s democratic progress but was also historic in that she became the first female president in the country’s history. This collection includes campaign ephemera gathered by East View researchers in Moldova as well as candidates’ financial declarations, documents from the Moldovan Central Election Commission, and biographical data of the presidential candidates.

Presidential Election, 2024

Moldova’s 2024 presidential election, held in two rounds in October and November, revealed the country’s deep social and geopolitical divides—between, on one hand, the long arm of Russian influence and its aspiration to join the European Union. The election, which was held alongside a constitutional referendum on EU integration, became a defining moment for Moldova’s democratic and strategic trajectory, and by all accounts, will prove to be the most consequential since it gained independence in 1991. The present collection of ephemera, comprised of special election issue newspapers, flyers, leaflets, etc., will allow researchers to reconstruct the tenor of the contentious debates leading up to the elections as well as the socio-political dynamics of Moldova’s democratic transition.