Moldova’s pro-EU party takes lead in election as vote counting under way

With 46% of the votes counted, Moldova’s ruling pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), compared with the pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc, where 90 percent of the votes were counted, is now in the lead in the parliamentary election.

There have been numerous allegations of Russian interference in Sunday’s parliamentary election, which is viewed as a geopolitical choice between entering the European Union and returning to Moscow’s fold.

More than 1.59 million people, or 51.9 percent of eligible voters, cast their ballots at 9 p.m., according to the Central Electoral Commission, including 264, 000 Moldovans in polling facilities set up abroad. Turnout for the parliamentary elections of 2021 was significantly higher than 48%.

A new 101-seat parliament will be chosen in the crucial vote, and the incumbent president of Moldova will nominate a prime minister, typically from the ruling bloc or party. The new parliament will then attempt to form a new coalition. The government’s proposal needs to be approved by the parliamentary body.

Maia Sandu, Moldova’s pro-Western president, reiterated her long-held assertions that Russia “massively interfered” in the election by saying she voted “to keep the peace” and that the EU is the EU’s future.

After the polls closed, PAS leader Igor Grosu claimed that “state institutions made efforts to ensure the security and integrity of the voting process” and that “Russia’s attempts to hijack the electoral process have been significant.”

At this time, he said, “The effects of this intervention are difficult to predict.” The election results are being anticipated. We appoint calm and patience.

Since 2021, pro-Western PAS has enjoyed a significant parliamentary majority. There was a lot of uncertainty about the outcome of the election race, which pitted the party against several pro-European opponents and no real pro-European allies.

Fears of Russian interference

A number of incidents marked Sunday’s tense race.

According to the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, bomb threats have targeted polling stations set up in various foreign cities, which have occasionally prevented people from casting ballots for up to two hours.

Additionally, according to the nation’s information technology and cybersecurity service, cyberattacks targeted the government’s cloud services and electoral infrastructure but were quickly stopped.

Three members of Transnistria, a pro-Russian breakaway region in Moldova, were allegedly planning “mass destabilizations and disorder” after the election, according to police.

The 2.5 million-strong nation has recently chosen to move westward and become a member of the EU in 2022. Soon after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, tensions between Russia and Moldova, a former Soviet Union republic that is encircled between Romania and the EU’s member country, soared.