Moldova’s pro-EU party takes a narrow lead in parliamentary vote amid Russian interference claims
Event date: 2025-09-28
Moldova’s pro-Western ruling party took a decisive lead on September 28 in a parliamentary election that quickly became a test of the country’s direction between closer ties with the European Union and a return toward Moscow’s orbit. According to official results reported by AP, with about 95% of polling station reports counted, the Party of Action and Solidarity was leading with 48% of the vote. The Russia-friendly Patriotic Electoral Bloc followed with 25.6%, while smaller blocs and parties trailed well behind. The result suggested the governing party was on track to secure enough seats to keep governing, though the final arithmetic would still matter in a 101-seat parliament. The vote took place under heavy tension. AP reported a series of election-day incidents, including bomb threats at polling stations abroad, cyberattacks on electoral and government infrastructure, and allegations that some voters were illegally transported to polling places. Police also detained three people suspected of plotting unrest after the vote. Those episodes fed a broader sense that the election was being fought not only over policy but over sovereignty and security. The ballot was widely seen as a geopolitical choice. Moldova has been moving westward in recent years, gaining European Union candidate status in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That background gave the parliamentary race exceptional weight, because the winning party will help shape the next government and determine whether the country keeps pressing toward Brussels or slows that course. Turnout matters in Moldova’s system, and the diaspora could play a decisive role. AP said more than 276,000 Moldovans had voted abroad by the time polls closed locally. That is a significant share in a country of about 2.5 million people, and it may prove especially important because Moldovan voters living outside the country have often leaned more strongly toward pro-European candidates. Officials and the ruling party had framed the election as a defense against what they called Russian hybrid interference. Party leader Igor Grosu said after the polls closed that Russia’s attempts to interfere had been huge and that state institutions had worked to protect the process. President Maia Sandu, who voted earlier in the day, also repeated her warning that Russia had massively interfered in the campaign. The final result was still pending in the source material, but the trend line was clear: Moldova’s governing party was ahead, and the result was likely to be read as a verdict on the country’s westward path as much as on any domestic policy dispute.
