 There were 86 votes for union, 3 votes against union, 36 deputies refrained from voting, and 13 deputies were absent from this session.The vote is regarded as controversial by several historians, including Romanian ones such as Cristina Petrescu and Sorin Alexandrescu.According to historian Charles King, with Romanian troops already in Chișinău, Romanian planes circling above the meeting hall, and the Romanian prime minister waiting in the foyer, many minority deputies chose simply not to vote.