Earlier preliminary results had indicted a majority “no,” but a surge of ballots from abroad provided last-minute support for EU membership. The referendum comes amid allegations of Russia-backed voter fraud

With more than 99% of the votes counted, the “yes” vote for EU membership in Moldova’s referendum was slightly ahead at 50.28% — only 8,000 votes more than the anti-EU camp.

Earlier, Moldovans appeared to have rejected plans for the former Soviet republic to add its goal of joining the EU to the constitution, according to preliminary results from 70% of ballots in the country’s referendum from Sunday evening.

However, ballots from Moldovans living abroad were counted towards the end, giving the “yes” camp a last-minute push.

A largely agricultural country of around 2.5 million people, Moldova has sought to cut ties with Moscow and move closer to the EU since Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022.

The former Soviet republic began EU membership talks in June.