Moldova’s ruling pro-EU party on Sunday topped parliamentary elections, according to almost complete results for a vote overshadowed by accusations of Russian interference in the ex-Soviet country.
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The small European Union candidate nation, which borders Ukraine and has a pro-Russia breakaway region, has long been divided over whether to move closer with Brussels or maintain Soviet-era relations with Moscow.
Sunday’s elections were seen as crucial for the country to maintain its push towards EU integration, launched after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
With 95 per cent of the votes counted early on Monday, the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), in power since 2021, stood at 48.3 per cent, well ahead of the runner-up pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc at 25.5 per cent.
PAS – whose leaders did not address waiting reporters late on Sunday – gained 52.8 per cent in 2021.
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“Statistically speaking PAS has guaranteed a fragile majority,” analyst Andrei Curararu of the Chisinau-based think tank WatchDog.md said.