Acting President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu is the favorite in the perspective of the upcoming presidential elections in the fall, while her main opponent, former pro-Russian President Ihor Dodon, has fallen below 14% in favor of voters, according to the results of a survey presented on Thursday by the iData company in Chisinau , reports Agerpres with reference to Ziarul Naţional.

Thus, Maya Sandu would have won 27.9% of the vote if early presidential elections were held next Sunday. She is followed by Ihor Dodon with 13.3%, ex-prime minister Ion Kiku – with 5.7%, current mayor of Chisinau Ion Cheban – with 4.4%, former governor of Gagauzia Iryna Vlach – with 4.3% and scandalous businessman Renato Usatoy – 3%.

The scales can be broken by those more than 30% of respondents who currently do not know who they would vote for or do not want to answer.

The authors of the survey claim that the sample does not include the votes of the diaspora and Transnistria, reported the cited mass media.

The referendum on the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU together with the presidential elections. How many Moldovans support joining the EU and NATO

At the same time, according to the results of the same survey, the majority of Moldovan citizens favor the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union, reports Deschide.md.

According to the survey, 57.4% of respondents answered that they would vote for joining the EU, and 32.8% spoke against the republic joining the EU bloc. At the same time, about 10% refused to answer.

When asked whether they agree with the holding of a referendum on joining the EU together with the presidential elections, 43% of respondents answered in the affirmative, and 43.9% said “against”.

The sociological survey also shows that support for the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU is slightly increasing – 57.4% in March 2024 compared to 56.7% in January 2024. At the same time, those who oppose European integration decreased from 34.4% in January 2024 to 32.8% in March 2024, according to the Chisinau publication Ziarul Naţional.

As for the possible accession of the Republic of Moldova to NATO, 31.3% were in favor, while 56% were against.

The survey was conducted from March 18 to 24 on a sample of 1,131 people with an error of +/- 3%.

The investigation takes place in the context of the fact that on March 18, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, announced that the presidential elections and the constitutional referendum on the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU will be held on the same day. in October.

In this sense, the legislative forum in Chisinau in January amended the Electoral Code so that the referendum on Moldova’s accession to the EU could take place simultaneously with the presidential elections.