The ruling pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) topped the parliamentary polls in the impoverished EU candidate country bordering Ukraine by a significant margin, as the process was marked with accusations of Russian interference.
PAS secured 47.7% compared to 25.8% for the pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc, as voter turnout stood at 52% in elections seen by most Moldovans as decisive for the country’s future direction.
President Maia Sandu's PAS suffered losses compared to the 2021 elections, when it had garnered 52.8% of the vote.
Sandu secured the start of accession talks for Moldova's integration into the European Union and significant economic aid from the West. After casting her vote in Chișinău, she once again warned of "Russian interference."
Earlier in the week, she had denounced that "hundreds of millions of euros" were channeled from Moscow for vote-buying, and that online disinformation campaigns and incitement to violence were orchestrated with the aim of influencing the electoral outcome.
Since August 1, as reported in local media, Moldovan authorities have engaged in operations to combat illegal party financing from networks allegedly supported by Russia.
On Friday, the Electoral Commission excluded the "Heart of Moldova" party that participated in the pro-Russian "Patriotic Bloc," with the party now investigated for illegal financing.
Moscow denied allegations of interference, conveying that the ruling party is spreading anti-Russian hysteria.
"I voted for a return to normality," stated former Moldovan president Igor Dodon (2016-2020), one of the leaders of the pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc.
In the breakaway region of Transnistria bordering Ukraine and controlled by pro-Russian separatists, where 277,000 registered voters are situated, officials denounced "numerous and blatant" attempts to falsify the electoral result.