Moldovans vote in a tense election plagued by Russian interference claims

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Moldovans on Sunday cast ballots in a tense parliamentary election plagued by claims of Russian interference, a vote seen as a choice between integration with the European Union or a drift back into Moscow’s fold.

Sunday’s pivotal vote will elect a new 101-seat parliament, after which Moldova’s president nominates a prime minister, generally from the leading party or bloc, which can then try to form a new government. A proposed government then needs parliamentary approval.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. The Central Electoral Commission reported that 750,000 people, or about 26% of eligible voters, had cast ballots by 1 p.m.

Pro-Western and pro-Russian parties slug it out

The race pits the governing pro-Western Party of Action and Solidarity, or PAS, which has held a strong parliamentary majority since 2021 but risks losing it, against several Russia-friendly opponents but no viable pro-European partners, leaving uncertainty over potential outcomes and the geopolitical course the country will take.

After casting her ballot, Moldova's pro-Western President Maia Sandu reiterated long-held claims that Russia “massively interfered” in the election, saying she voted “to keep the peace” and that her country's future lies within the EU.

“Russia poses a danger to our democracies. Our democracy is young and fragile, but that does not mean that states with longer democracies are not in danger. We want to live in a democracy," she said. "Today, in our country, democracy is in the hands of Moldovans — only they can save the Republic of Moldova.”

Moldova is landlocked between Ukraine and European Union member Romania. The country of about 2.5 million people has spent recent years on a westward path and gained candidate status to the EU in 2022, shortly after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Fears of Russian interference

Days before Sunday’s vote, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean warned that Russia is spending “hundreds of millions” of euros as part of an alleged hybrid war to try to seize power, which he described as “the final battle for our country’s future.”

“I call on every Moldovan at home and across Europe: We cannot change what Russia does, but we can change what we do as a people,” he said. “Turn worry into mobilization and thoughtful action. … Help stop their schemes.”

The alleged Russian strategies include a large-scale vote-buying operation, cyberattacks on critical government infrastructure, a plan to incite mass riots around the election, and a sprawling disinformation campaign online to diminish support for the pro-European ruling party and sway voters toward Moscow-friendly ones.

Russia has repeatedly denied meddling in Moldova and dismissed the allegations last week as “anti-Russian” and “unsubstantiated.”

Authorities have warned that Moldova’s election day could be targeted by false bomb threats, cyberattacks, temporary power outages, and street violence by trained individuals. In a crackdown before the vote, law enforcement officers have carried out hundreds of raids, in which scores have been detained.

Moldova's Information Technology and Cyber ​​Security Service said cyberattacks on Saturday and Sunday had targeted electoral infrastructure and government cloud services. “All attacks were detected and neutralized in real time, without affecting the electoral process,” it stated.

The importance of diaspora voters

Moldova’s large diaspora is expected to play a decisive role in Sunday’s outcome. In last year’s presidential runoff — which was also viewed as a choice between East and West — a record number of 327,000 voters cast ballots abroad, more than 82% of whom favored Sandu, and ultimately secured her reelection.

A key opponent of PAS in Sunday’s election is the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc, a group of political parties that wants “friendship with Russia” and “permanent neutrality.” Others include the populist Our Party, which wants “balanced foreign policy” between East and West, and the Alternativa Bloc, which claims to be pro-European but critics say would seek closer ties to Moscow.

Igor Dodon, a former president and a member of the Patriotic Electoral Bloc, said Sunday’s election “is the day when the people are not afraid, but others are afraid of the people.”

“We go out and vote. We choose a country where people’s fear will disappear,” he said. “We choose a normal life for citizens — we believe in Moldova.”

Voter concerns may have diminished pro-EU camp

In recent years, as the country has lurched from crisis to crisis, Moldovans have faced rampant inflation, instability from the war next door, increasing costs of living and high poverty rates, which may have diminished support for the pro-European ruling party, which Sandu founded in 2016.

Most local polls indicate that PAS will win the most votes, but they don’t include Moldova’s large diaspora, and about a third of voters remain undecided. In the 2021 parliamentary election, turnout was just over 48%.

Igor Mihailov, a 26-year-old student from Chisinau, didn’t want to say who he voted for but described Moldovan society as “very divided because of propaganda from both sides.”

“For me personally and for other people in our country, it’s a very tough choice,” he said. “The main priority for me is for our government to be for us, not for their own interests, to be for the people.”

For 23-year-old economist Cristian Iftodi, it is a stark choice “strictly between the West and Russia.”