Maia Sandu

Sandu meeting with Vice President Mike Pence at the White House, September 2019.

In the 2019 parliamentary election, Sandu's PAS together with its ally, PPDA led by Andrei Năstase formed the ACUM Electoral Bloc and secured 26 of the 101 seats in the Parliament of Moldova.[22] On 8 June 2019, Maia Sandu was elected Prime Minister of Moldova in a coalition government with PSRM.[23] On the same day, the Constitutional Court of Moldova declared unconstitutional her designation for this position as well as the appointment of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, which sparked the 2019 constitutional crisis.[24] However, on 15 June 2019, the Constitutional Court revised and repealed its previous decisions declaring the Sandu Cabinet to have been constitutionally created.[25]

The next day, she called for the restoration of public order, discouraging citizens from attending local rallies.[26] In June 2019, she lifted a March 2017 ban by former Prime Minister Filip of official visits by government officials to Russia.[27] In one of her first interviews to foreign media, she announced her intention to request that the United States Treasury add Vlad Plahotniuc to the Magnitsky List.[28] In August, Sandu asked the State Chancellery to prepare a draft decree where 23 August was declared to be the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism instead of the regular Liberation Day. The decree was opposed by her coalition partner, the PSRM, with Moldova's president and ex-PSRM leader Igor Dodon announcing that he will celebrate the date in the old style, rejecting Sandu's proposal.[29]

Under Maia Sandu, Moldova began taking steps towards the European Union as Sandu herself is pro-E.U. Maia Sandu was ousted as prime minister on 12 November 2019, following a vote of no confidence. She remained as a caretaker of the office until the formation of a new government.[30] However, on 24 December 2020 Maia Sandu took office as state president,[31][32] after winning a landslide election against the Pro-Russian Igor Dodon, and again on a pro-E.U. and anti-corruption platform. Moldova is in a position once more under Sandu's leadership to resume moving forward towards European integration.

Logo of Sandu's campaign

Sandu announced her candidacy for the 2020 presidential election on 18 July,[33] declaring that a joint pro-European candidate would not be needed as there was no risk of there being no pro-European candidates in the second round.[34] Sandu officially launched her campaign on 2 October 2020, holding 2 speeches in Romanian and Russian both promising to fight corruption, poverty, and to reform the criminal justice system,[35] while accusing president Dodon of deliberately hindering the latter.[36][37][38][39] Because no candidate received a majority of votes in the first round, a run-off between Sandu and Dodon was held on 15 November, in which Sandu won with 57.75% of the popular vote.[31][32]

She was congratulated on her win by senior leaders of the European Union, as well as President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine,[40] President Qasym-Jomart Toqaev of Kazakhstan,[41] Azeri President Ilham Aliyev[42] and President Klaus Iohannis of Romania.[43] Sandu was also congratulated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had initially endorsed Dodon.[44] In her press conference, she declared that Moldova under her leadership "will secure real balance in the foreign policy, being guided by Moldova's national interests, we will have a pragmatic dialogue with all the countries, including Romania, Ukraine, European nations, Russia and the US".[45]

On 28 December, she met the parliamentary factions for consultations.[48] Foreign Minister Aureliu Ciocoi was named acting prime minister by Sandu on 31 December after Chicu refused to stay on in an acting capacity.[49][50][51] The ex-president of the country, leader of the Party of Communists Vladimir Voronin and the Leader of Our Party Renato Usatii[52] proposed their candidacies for the post of prime minister. At a briefing following her visit to Ukraine, Sandu also touched upon the appointment of the prime minister, stating that "Neither Voronin nor Usatii are suitable for the role of prime minister. We need a serious government, created following early elections."[53][54] On 27 January 2021, she nominated Natalia Gavrilița as a candidate for the position of Prime Minister, saying that she has the "task of creating the government team and preparing a government program focused on economic development and cleaning up the institutions of the state of corruption".[55] The very next day, Sandu asked MPs to reject her proposed Prime Minister in order to speed up the process of its dissolution and early elections.[56]

During the visit of President Iohannis, he promised Romania would donate 200,000 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Moldova.[57] On 16 January, Sandu said that the authorities will allow residents of Transnistria to be vaccinated with the Russian drug Sputnik V.[58]

In mid-January 2021, Sandu announced that the Supreme Security Council would be reorganized. On 21 January 2021, human rights activist Ana Revenko was appointed Secretary of the Supreme Security Council and concurrently adviser to Sandu in the field of defense and national security. Revenko's predecessor in these posts, Defense Minister Victor Gaiciuc, remained a member of the Security Council. On 25 January 2021, Sandu signed a decree on the composition of the updated Supreme Security Council, which included:

• Maia Sandu, President of the SSC, President of Moldova
• Ana Revenco, Secretary of the SSC, National Security and Defense Advisor to the President
• Zinaida Greceanîi, President of the Parliament
• Aureliu Ciocoi, Acting Prime Minister of Moldova; Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration
• Sergiu Sîrbu, Member of Parliament; Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for National security, Defense and Public Order
• Victor Gaiciuc, Minister of Defense
• Pavel Voicu, Minister of Internal Affairs
• Alexandr Esaulenco, Director of the Security and Intelligence Service
• Alexandr Stoianoglo, Prosecutor General of Moldova
• Octavian Armașu, Governor of the National Bank
• Andrei Spînu, Secretary General of the Presidential Apparatus
• Olesea Stamate, Judicial Advisor to the President
• Veaceslav Negruța, Economic Advisor to the President
• Ala Nemerenco, Public Health Advisor to the President
• Igor Grosu, Member of Parliament; Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for National Security, Defense and Public Order
• Chiril Moțpan, Member of Parliament
• Sergiu Litvinenco, Member of Parliament
• Vladimir Munteanu, Deputy Governor of the National Bank
• Sergiu Gaibu
• Tatiana Răducanu
• Vladislav Kulminski, Ex-Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration

The structure of the renewed Security Council did not include the Minister of Justice Fadei Nagacevschi, the Governor of Gagauzia Irina Vlah and director of the National Center for Combating Corruption Ruslan Flocha. Nagacevschi, commenting on this situation, said: "I am glad that I was inconvenient".[59][60] Former President Dodon declared the Supreme Security Council to be a threat to national security.[61] His political opponent, former Prime Minister and leader of the Democratic Party Pavel Filip, was in solidarity with the ex-president, saying that "we are seeing double standards".[62]

She is a supporter of Moldova's European integration, the country's entry into NATO and EU, as well as the resumption of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund. When she received the President of Romania, she declared that "the Republic will integrate into the European space with the help of Romania".[63]

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis became the first foreign leader to visit Sandu in Moldova, arriving on 29 December.[64]

Sandu reviewing an honor guard at the Mariyinsky Palace, Ukraine

In a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, she confirmed that a visit to Kyiv in January 2021 will become the first foreign trip she will take as president.[65][66] During her visit on 12 January, she met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, where they agreed to create a Presidential Council to address issues of bilateral relations.[67] She also met with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal[68] and parliament speaker Dmytro Razumkov.[69] She paid tribute to fallen Ukrainians at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide.[70]

In an interview to the TV-8 channel, she declared that she is "ready to go to Russia" to discuss issues "concerning trade, exports, settlement of the Transnistria conflict" and others. She also noted that she intends to visit Kyiv and Brussels before going to Moscow, highlighting her more pro-EU stance.[71]

She declared that Operational Group of Russian Forces (OGRF) should withdraw from the breakaway Transnistria, saying to the RBK that although they guard ammunition depots, "there are no bilateral agreements on the OGRF and on the weapons depots". She also stated that its her position that the "mission should be transformed into an OSCE civilian observer mission".[72]

In September 2016, Sandu instituted proceedings against the State Chancellery, requesting to be presented the shorthand from the Cabinet meeting where the state guarantees for the three bankrupted banks (Banca Socială, Unibank and Banca de Economii) had been approved.[73] Prime Minister Pavel Filip published on his Facebook page, the shorthand of the last Cabinet meeting, when the decision on granting the emergency credit for the Banca de Economii was adopted. The shorthand included the speeches of former NBM governor Dorin Drăguțanu, former Prime Minister Chiril Gaburici, and Sandu's own speeches from the time as minister of education. It is mentioned that at the end the decision was voted unanimously. The shorthand was not signed.[74]

In 2016, within the debates for the presidential elections, Sandu was asked by the socialist Ion Ceban if she voted for the airport concession at the Cabinet meeting of 29 May 2013. In reply, Sandu said that she did not attend the Government meeting in which the airport concession was voted. However, the socialists lifted the archive and obtained the video recording showing that Sandu participated in the meeting and voted for the concession of Chișinău International Airport.[75]

On 21 February 2019, Sandu and the candidates of the ACUM electoral bloc, both of the national and uninominal constituency, signed a public commitment according to which after the Parliamentary elections of 24 February 2019 they would not make any coalition with the Party of Socialists, Democratic Party and Shor Party, and if this commitment is violated they will resign as MPs.[76][77][78][79] She violated this self-imposed commitment after agreeing to form a coalition government along with the Party of Socialists in early June 2019.[80]

Regarding former leader of Romania Ion Antonescu, Sandu said in 2018 that he was "a historical figure about whom we may say both good and bad things". Her statements were sharply criticized by the Jewish Community of Moldova (CERM), who issued an open letter stating: "The lack of sanctions for [...] Holocaust denial and glorification of fascism in Moldovan legislation allows some opinion leaders and political leaders to not be held accountable for such acts, and lets them create their public image by distorting and revising historical facts and fueling inter-ethnic and inter-religious discrimination and hate."[81][82] Sandu replied to this accusation in later interviews by stating: "I regret that my words about the dictator Ion Antonescu were made an object of interpretation. [...] My attitude towards any criminal regime of the 20th century, whether Nazi or communist, which have millions of lives on their consciences, is well known and unequivocally negative. Ion Antonescu was a war criminal, rightly condemned by the international community for war crimes against Jewish and Roma people."[83][84]