Moldova’s pro-European Union party took the lead in the country’s parliamentary elections on Sunday. A majority of the 1.6 million votes had been counted as of Sunday evening, according to multiple media outlets.
The Associated Press wrote that the Party of Action and Solidarity led the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc 48% to 25.6%, with 95% of the votes tallied. Another Russia-friendly party, Alternativa Bloc, had around 8.3% of the vote while the populist Our Party had 6.3% and a right-wing Democracy at Home party garnered 5.7%.
Moldova was given candidate status to the EU in 2022.
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Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who is part of the Party of Action and Solidarity, had warned of “massive Russian interference” in the election, the BBC reported. Igor Grosu, the party’s leader, echoed these sentiments.
“Russia’s attempts to hijack the electoral process have been huge,” he was quoted by the AP as saying, though he added state institutions tried to ensure the security and integrity of the votes. “The consequences of this intervention are hard to estimate at this hour.”
Meanwhile, Igor Dodon, who is a member of the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc, as well as a previous Moldovan president, urged for protests outside of parliament on Monday, declaring victory in the race before any votes had come in.
The Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said polling stations faced bomb threats in several cities, and that prevented people from voting for up to two hours. In addition, cyberattacks targeted electoral infrastructure, Moldova’s Information Technology and Cyber Security Service said. The AP wrote that these were “swiftly dealt with,” though.
Officials alleged Russia attempted to buy votes, incite riots and spread disinformation throughout the election to prop up the parties supporting Moscow. During raids in the days prior to the vote, police detained dozens of people who they alleged were trained in Serbia to create these riots.
Russia denied claims of election interference.
Politico Europe wrote that the Central Election Commission was tallying results on Sunday, but the final outcome can only be verified after watchdog and external observers present on Monday morning.
