Scandal after Moldova awarded only 3 points to Romania in the Eurovision final. Angry reactions flooded the Internet: “Shame! It's horrible, it looks like corruption!”
Romania climbed onto the podium at Eurovision 2026, but the vote from the Republic of Moldova caused a wave of discontent. The only 3 points awarded by the Moldovan jury caused intense reactions, including over Prut, where many say that the decision does not reflect the public vote.
Alexandra Căpitănescu placed third at Eurovision 2026. PHOTO: Profimedia
The Eurovision 2026 final brought Romania one of the best results in recent years, but also a controversy that continues to fuel discussions online.
Although the representative of Romania, Alexandra Căpitănescu, ended the competition in third place, with 296 points, the moment of awarding the votes from the national juries left a bitter taste for many Romanian viewers. The biggest unpleasant surprise came even from the Republic of Moldova, a country from which the Romanian public expected consistent support.
While Romania awarded the Republic of Moldova 10 points, the Moldovan jury gave our representative only 3 points. The maximum 12 points went to Poland, and the gap between public expectations and the final result almost instantly sparked a wave of reactions on social media.
How the Moldovan jury voted. PHOTO: video capture
For many of those who have been following the competition for years, the situation was all the more difficult to understand since the relationship between Romania and the Republic of Moldova was marked, almost constantly, by generous exchanges of points and mutual support.
In this context, the decision of the Chisinau jury was interpreted by some as an affront, a humiliation, and by others as an inexplicable choice.
The Moldovan public gave Alexandra the maximum score
If the juries treated Romania's piece with restraint, the European public voted massively for Alexandra Căpitănescu, she obtained 232 points in the televote, one of the highest scores of the evening, and this wave of support lifted Romania to the podium of the competition.
The situation in the Republic of Moldova became even more sensitive after the publication of the difference between the vote of the jury and that of the viewers, because, while the jurors offered only 3 points to Romania and no points to Ukraine, the Moldovan public awarded the maximum score, 12 points, to Alexandra Căpitănescu.
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The Romanian delegation to Eurovision went to Vienna; Alexandra Căpitănescu PHOTO Inquam / Ovidiu Micsik
The obvious difference between the two options, of the Moldovan public, on the one hand, and the members of the jury, on the other hand, fueled not only criticism, but also controversies about the criteria on the basis of which its members were chosen and about who are the people who represented the Republic of Moldova, given that, at least until now, no complete information about the composition of the Moldovan jury has been made public.
In a reaction published online, the general director of Teleradio-Moldova, Vlad Țurcanu, noted the difference between the public's vote and that of the jury, saying that it surprised him.
What the spokesperson of Chisinau says
An ample reaction also came from Daniel Vodă, spokesperson of the Chisinau Government, who tried to explain why the situation generated so much tension in a message on Facebook.
“THE PUBLIC OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA GRANTED THE MAXIMUM SCORE TO ROMANIA”, he wrote in a post that circulated extensively online.
“We sometimes say: 'Excuse us for no scandal'. Well, the biggest Eurovision scandal for the Republic of Moldova was not related to the artists. Satoshi and Alexandra Căpitănescu had excellent performances. The scandal was different: the jury from the Republic of Moldova did not seem to understand that the Eurovision is also a geopolitical contest, not just a musical one, even if Romania's representative was excellent on this criterion as well. Other countries voted for their neighbors, friends, cultural or political alliances. And we gave Romania only 3 points from the jury”, Daniel Vodă transmitted.
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He wanted to emphasize that the image created immediately after the announcement of the score does not reflect the whole reality.
“The public from the Republic of Moldova, however, did exactly what it should: it offered 12 points to Romania. Cumulatively, Romania received 15 points from the Republic of Moldova. The problem is that the results of the jury appear first. And the initial impression was an unfair one: that the Republic of Moldova had turned its back on Romania. This is false. The public voted for Romania. The public saved the honor”. he also wrote.
In the same message, Daniel Vodă criticized the lack of quick and clear communication regarding the differences between the two votes.
“This is where the responsibility of the public office comes in. When you know that there is a major emotional vulnerability in the Moldova-Romania relationship, you prepare. You communicate quickly. You explain the public's vote. You show the numbers. You don't let the public space burn in confusion.” he explained.
“When you organize a contest watched by hundreds of thousands of people, transparency is not a fad. It is a public obligation. TVR placed an informative card with the public vote during the contest. In over 5 years, we probably won't remember these 3 points awarded by the jury. In an evening when music united us, the lack of transparency managed to overshadow exactly what Moldova and Romania did best: to support each other”. he added.
Social networks caught fire: “Shame!”
The dissatisfaction was immediately visible in the comments that appeared online, including from some users from the Republic of Moldova, who said that the jury did not reflect the choice of the public.
* “Shame on the jury of Vlad Țurcanu (the director of TV Moldova)! To give Romania, which ended up in third place, only 3 points, and Poland just 12 points, it's more than strange! It's horrible, and it looks like corruption! URGENT an investigation! We want the names of these jurors!”,
one user wrote.
* “Let's not get drunk with water, right, the public on both sides voted well, instead what did the Moldovan “experts” vote, that's the question?! I could have understood, if Alexandra was at the bottom of the ranking, there's no point in discussing, from one vote to another, that's all they knew and understood and that's what they said! Shame!”someone else commented.
Many called for transparency and the publication of the identity of those who served on the jury.
* “I want to know who was in the Jury of Moldova??? I mean, Romania received 3 points from the jury of Moldova and Romania gave us 10 (although we are not even in 2nd place) Who was this smart “jury” this year?”, wrote a netizen.
How does Alexandra Căpitănescu prepare for the most important Eurovision night
* “Yes, who was the jury, how many 3,4,5 men; they do not represent us at all, but, yes, I think Alexandra's piece should have won, the piece and the performance were very good!”, it is shown in another message.
* “In vain, no argument will help. We are the negative heroes tonight. It's easier to blame than to see the beauty (the audience did what they had to do)”. wrote a user from the Republic of Moldova.
* “And when we drown, we also look for and find the lifeline at the brothers across the Prut. Give us the names of the jurors, we should know our “heroes”. Her mother of reckoning and order”. someone else wrote.
On the “Moldovans in Seattle” forum, one user summed up the frustration of many:
“What kind of jury did Moldova have at Eurovision, if they awarded only 3 points to Romania? Let's get 12 points from Luxembourg and only 3 points from Moldova! Shame on them! Romania and Alexandra Căpitănescu deserved more! I hope you are as angry as I am! And if you know the names of the jurors, make these names public so that they know who these people are!”
Votes for Romania
In the rest of Europe, the vote for Romania at Eurovision 2026 was strongly influenced by the public, even if the juries' reactions were uneven. Alexandra Căpitănescu obtained a total of 232 points from the televote, one of the highest scores of the evening, which decisively pushed Romania onto the podium of the competition.
Public support came from many countries, where the play was appreciated far above the judges' ratings.
Luxembourg gave Romania the maximum score, 12 points, in one of the most notable moments of the final, while the Czech Republic awarded 8 points, Norway 6, Poland and Italy 5 each, and Israel 4.
In the area of lower scores, Switzerland, Portugal, Sweden and Denmark contributed one point each, and Greece and Latvia two each.
In contrast to these results from the public and some favorable juries, several important countries did not award any points to Romania, which made the difference between the televote and the juries' vote to become one of the main topics of discussion of the Eurovision 2026 edition.
