Pro-EU party in Moldova set to win vote mired in claims of Russian interference

Pro-EU party in Moldova set to win vote mired in claims of Russian interference

Just now Share Save Sarah Rainsford Eastern and Southern Europe correspondent in Chisinau and Paul Kirby Europe digital editor in London Share Save

Anadolu via Getty Images Moldovan President Maia Sandu warned voters their democracy was young and fragile and Russia endangered it

The pro-European party of Moldovan President Maia Sandu is heading for a clear victory and a new majority in parliament in elections seen as critical for her country's future path to the EU. Sandu had warned of "massive Russian interference" after voting, saying the future of her country, flanked by Ukraine and Romania, was at stake. Her Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) secured 50% of the vote, with most of the 1.6m votes counted, far ahead of the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc on under 25%. Turnout was 52%, higher than in recent years. One of the main opposition leaders, Igor Dodon, had claimed victory even before results came in and called for protests outside parliament on Monday.

Recent Moldovan votes have been far closer, but it eventually became clear that Sandu's party was on course for another majority in the 101-seat parliament. Four years ago, the president's party won 52.8% of the vote, and based on latest results it is now set to clinch 55 seats. To form a government it will not need to rely on support from other parties, such as the Alternativa bloc or the populist Our Party.

In a measure of the tension surrounding the vote, bomb scares were reported at polling stations in Italy, Romania, Spain and the US. Similar scares were reported in Moldova itself and three people were arrested on suspicion of plotting unrest the day after the vote. The head of Sandu's party, Igor Grosu, blamed criminal groups backed by Moscow for Sunday's incidents and appealed for "patience and calm" to let the electoral process continue. Moldova also has a pro-Russian breakaway enclave called Transnistria along its border with Ukraine, complete with a Russian military presence. Residents in this sliver of land have Moldovan passports. Many are strongly pro-Moscow and Socialist party leader Igor Dodon said there had been "all sorts of harassment, stopping them from voting".

Sarah Rainsford reports from Moldova's administrative border with Transnistria

Moldovans have been buffeted by Russia's full-scale war in neighbouring Ukraine, but they are also grappling with spiralling prices and high levels of corruption. President Sandu, 53, who won a second term of office last November, warned Moldovans the future of their democracy was in their hands: "Don't play with your vote or you'll lose everything!" Dodon, who is one of Sandu's main rivals, went on national TV as soon as polls closed to claim his pro-Russian allies in the Patriotic Electoral Bloc had won the election, despite there being no exit polls and before any early results were declared.

Thanking Moldovans for voting "in record numbers", Dodon called on the PAS government to leave power, and for supporters of all opposition parties to take to the streets on Monday to "defend" their vote outside parliament at midday. "We will not allow destabilisation," he promised. "The citizens have voted. Their vote must be respected even if you don't like it," he added, addressing President Sandu and her party. One of the parties in Dodon's bloc was barred from running two days before the vote because of alleged illicit funding.

In the run-up to the vote, police reported evidence of an unprecedented effort by Russia to spread disinformation and buy votes. Dozens of men were also arrested, accused of travelling to Serbia for firearms training and co-ordinating unrest. A BBC investigation uncovered a network promising to pay participants if they posted pro-Russian propaganda and fake news. Parties sympathetic to Moscow rejected the police claims as fake and a show - created by the government to scare people into supporting them. Russia's embassy in the UK rejected the BBC's allegations, accusing Moldova and its "Western sponsors" of seeking to divert attention from Chisinau's "internal woes". Inside all the polling stations visited by the BBC a small camera had been placed on a tripod overlooking the transparent ballot boxes. Election monitors said they were recording everything, to be checked if there were any reports of violations.

Dan Spatar, who was at one polling station in the capital with his young daughter said he was choosing a European future over a Russian past: "We voted for this four years ago and deserve to continue with it. We see what happens every day in Ukraine and we worry about that." Moldova was awarded EU candidate status in 2022 along with Ukraine, four months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Marina said she was voting "for peace in Moldova, for a better life, for growing our economy" and felt it would be very hard for her country to continue its path to Europe with a pro-Russian government.

Sarah Rainsford/BBC The number of voters from Transnistria was well down on previous years