Moldavia's pro-EU ruling party wins surprise majority in pivotal vote

Moldova's pro-European ruling party won a resounding victory over its Russian-leaning rival in a key parliamentary election, results on Monday showed, in a major boost for the country's bid to join the European Union and break away from Moscow's orbit.

The surprisingly strong performance on Sunday by President Maia Sandu's Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) against the Patriotic Bloc was a relief for the government and its EU partners, who accused Moscow of seeking to influence the vote.

"I'm glad that our path to the EU is guaranteed... I want Moldova to be a free and democratic country," Sandu told a press conference.

With all votes counted, PAS had won 50.2% versus 24.2% for the Patriotic Bloc, which had sought to steer Moldova - a small former Soviet republic that lies between Ukraine and EU member Romania - closer to Russia.

STRONG SUPPORT FOR EU MEMBERSHIP

"The people of Moldova... chose democracy, reform, and a European future, in the face of pressure and interference from Russia," Antonio Costa, president of the European Council which represents the EU's 27 member states, said on X.

The leaders of France, Germany and Poland, in a joint statement, also congratulated Moldova for "the peaceful conduct of the election, despite unprecedented interference by Russia, including with vote-buying schemes and disinformation".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the election result showed that Moscow had failed to "destabilise" Moldova.

However, Moscow - which denies the accusations of meddling - accused authorities in Moldova of preventing hundreds of thousands of its citizens who live in Russia from voting by providing only two polling stations for the large diaspora.

Asked whether Moscow recognised the results, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that some political forces in Moldova had spoken of violations.

In Moldova, first-time voter Ana-Maria Orsu, 18, said she had noticed that many young people like her had turned out to cast their ballot.

"I think we have a bright future ahead of us," she said in the centre of the capital Chisinau early on Monday.

PAS leaders had called Sunday's election the most consequential since Moldova's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Sandu's government said Russia had attempted to sway the vote through widespread disinformation and vote-buying.

OPPOSITION ALLEGES VOTING VIOLATIONS

Patriotic Bloc co-leader Igor Dodon, a former Moldovan president, called for protests against the election results.

On Monday, a small crowd of about 100 people gathered in front of parliament where Dodon said his party had filed documents to the Central Electoral Commission that proved voting violations.

"PAS is clinging to power through the diaspora votes," Dodon said, referring to the large number of Moldovans who live and work in the EU and elsewhere.

He also said, without providing evidence, that more than 200,000 people living in Transdniestria, a pro-Russian separatist region, had been denied the chance to vote.

Sandu rejected that criticism, telling reporters that Moldova could not influence what happened in a region that did not recognise Moldovan government control.

"We have done our best to provide the conditions for the people from the Transdniestrian region who have been genuinely participating in the elections process ... to come and vote and they have been able to do that," she said.

Sandu added that Sunday's election had been fair.

Moldova - with a population of 2.4 million people that has been buffeted by the war in neighbouring Ukraine, alleged Russian interference and energy shortages - has long vacillated between Russia and Europe.

The Patriotic Bloc and other opposition groups had sought to tap into voter anger over economic pain and the slow pace of reforms - grievances worsened by what officials say has been widespread disinformation.

Inflation remains stubbornly high at around 7%, while Moldovans also shoulder higher costs for imported energy.

Meeting the EU's tough membership criteria will be very difficult for Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries.

Anastasia Pociumban of the German Council on Foreign Relations said PAS faced a huge challenge in "bridging the divides" in the country and better communicating the benefits of EU accession to more sceptical Moldovans.