# Sandu's PAS wins Moldova vote amid Russian interference claims
*Event date: 2025-09-28*
The pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity of President Maia Sandu claimed a clear victory in Moldova's parliamentary election on the event date, winning just over 50% of the vote and preserving a majority in the 101-seat legislature. With 99.9% of ballots counted, the BBC said PAS had 50.17%, far ahead of the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc on 24.18%. The result matters because the election was widely seen as a test of whether Moldova would continue toward the European Union or drift back toward Moscow's orbit.
Sandu warned before and after voting that Russia was trying to destabilize the country. The BBC report says she described Moldova's democracy as young and fragile and accused Moscow of massive interference. PAS leader Igor Grosu said Russia had thrown everything it had at the election. Their allies abroad quickly treated the result as a geopolitical signal: Ursula von der Leyen praised voters for choosing Europe, Donald Tusk said Sandu had saved democracy, and Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia's destabilizing activity had lost.
The opposition did not accept the outcome gracefully. Igor Dodon, who leads a pro-Russian bloc and remains one of Sandu's main rivals, claimed victory before the results were in and called on supporters to protest outside parliament. But the BBC said Monday's demonstration was tiny and had little sense of momentum. PAS does not need coalition partners to govern, which means Dodon's attempt to force the political conversation onto the streets failed to produce immediate pressure.
The election campaign took place under heavy security and information pressure. The BBC says bomb scares were reported at polling stations in Italy, Romania, Spain and the United States, as well as in Moldova itself, and police later arrested three people on suspicion of plotting unrest. Authorities also said they had uncovered evidence of Russian disinformation and vote-buying efforts, and a BBC investigation found a network offering money to people who posted pro-Russian propaganda and fake news. Moscow and opposition figures rejected those claims.
The vote also exposed the continuing challenge of Transnistria, Moldova's breakaway region with a Russian military presence. Turnout across the country was higher than in recent years at 52%, but the number of voters from Transnistria fell. For Sandu, the result is a strong mandate to keep pushing toward EU membership. For Moscow, it is another reminder that influence in Moldova is no longer as easy as it once was.
