Moldova’s EU referendum result is on a knife-edge with nearly all votes counted

Moldova’s President Maia Sandu, center, arrives for a press briefing after the polls closed for the presidential election and the referendum on whether to enshrine in the Constitution the country’s pa

A referendum on Moldova joining the EU hung in the balance early Monday with almost all votes counted, as President Maia Sandu blamed an “unprecedented assault on our country’s freedom and democracy” in a vote marred by fears of Russian meddling amid the war in neighbouring Ukraine.

With more than 98 percent of the votes counted, the “yes” vote was slightly ahead at 50.03 percent, while the “no” camp — long been ahead from the start of counting — stood at 49.97 percent, according to results published by the election commission.