With all the ballots counted, Moldova’s pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) secured a majority in a parliamentary contest widely billed as a turning point in the nation’s history.
According to the official tally, PAS secured 50.2% of the vote, while the main opposition alliance, the Patriotic Bloc, received 24.18%. Voter turnout was 52.21%.
PAS is projected to hold 55 seats in the 101-seat parliament, according to estimates by the news website NewsMaker.
The ruling party came first in central parts of the country, including the capital, Chisinau, and edged into the lead after ballots from the Moldovan diaspora were counted. The opposition received the most votes in the north, as well as in the largely Russian-speaking southern region of Gagauzia and the breakaway Russian-speaking region of Transnistria in the east.
Out of 301 foreign polling stations, Chisinau opened just two in Russia. Only about 4,100 votes were counted there, despite hundreds of thousands of Moldovan citizens living in the country. Long lines formed in Moscow throughout the day, and after the stations closed, many people were still outside waiting to cast their ballots.
The residents of Transnistria have complained that the authorities in Chisinau blocked bridges across the Dniester River to prevent them from reaching polling stations.
Officials in Chisinau and Brussels hailed the election as a democratic milestone, while the opposition alleges wide-scale manipulation.
Sandu, first elected in 2020 and narrowly re-elected in 2024, has faced recurring claims of presiding over electoral irregularities. Opposition groups insist that decisive votes last year came from Moldovans living in EU countries. At the same time, Moscow accused Chisinau of disenfranchising citizens living in Russia, where only a handful of polling stations were opened compared with hundreds across Western Europe.
Just days ahead of the vote, the Central Election Commission barred two more opposition parties – Greater Moldova and Heart of Moldova – accusing them of taking undeclared foreign funds and violating campaign rules. They join a growing list: the Victory Bloc was deregistered earlier in 2025, and the SOR Party was dissolved by the Constitutional Court in June 2023.
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29 September 2025
The results of the parliamentary election in Moldova have been falsified and the pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) does not have “any majority,” Moldovan MP Marina Tauber has told RT.
According to preliminary results, PAS has secured 50.2% of the ballots, edging out opposition parties and taking full control of parliament, but opposition parties have disputed the official numbers.
“We don’t recognize these elections and new elections should be organized,” Tauber stated. “Because they are not the will of the people.”
Moldova’s Constitutional Court banned Tauber’s Sor Party from participating in parliamentary elections. Days before the election, the Central Election Commission barred two more opposition groups – Greater Moldova and Heart of Moldova. Maia Sandu’s pro-Western government has been accused of cracking down on the opposition to secure victory.
Tauber called it “the dirtiest campaign in the history of Moldova.”
The United Nations is monitoring the elections in Moldova and is aware of reports of possible violations and interference, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said in response to a question from RIA Novosti.
“We are following the parliamentary elections in Moldova and are aware of reports of alleged irregularities and foreign interference. We urge all parties to respect the democratic process, remain calm, act responsibly and avoid any rhetoric or actions that could heighten tensions while awaiting the final results to be announced by the Central Election Commission,” Haq told reporters during a briefing.
According to preliminary results, President Maia Sandu’s pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) secured 55 out of 101 parliamentary seats – eight fewer than in the previous legislature, but still enough to govern without a coalition. The Patriotic Electoral Bloc followed with 26 seats, while the Alternativa bloc gained eight, and both Our Party and Democracy at Home each obtained six mandates.
Parliamentary elections in Moldova were a “big fraud,” Romanian MEP Diana Sosoaca told RT on Monday. She alleged irregularities at polling stations, saying opposition voters were being photographed, stopped by police for walking in groups, and some arrested. She said this discouraged many from voting.
Sosoaca also claimed that the vote would have been cancelled had the opposition won, as happened in her country when opposition candidate Calin Georgescu won the first round of Romania’s November 2024 presidential election on a platform of national sovereignty and opposition to NATO, the EU, and military aid for Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has congratulated Moldovan President Maia Sandu on what he called “a very important victory” in the parliamentary election.
“These elections showed that Russia’s destabilizing activity loses, while Moldova in Europe wins,” he wrote on X. Moscow has repeatedly rejected Chisinau’s claims of interference in the vote.
Ukraine will “always support Moldova. We will continue working together,” Zelensky wrote.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu has said that the results of her country’s parliamentary election, in which her PAS party secured a narrow majority, have given her government “a strong mandate on joining the EU.”
“We have defended our country with our fair vote… We have proven that we can stand united when the future of our nation is under threat,” Sandu said, again accusing Russia of trying to interfere with the election, but providing no proof to back her claims.
According to preliminary results, PAS has secured 50.2% of the ballots, edging in front of the Patriotic Bloc and other opposition forces, who jointly got 49.8%, primarily due to the vote of the Moldovan diaspora in foreign countries. The opposition has accused Sandu’s government of manipulations during the election, saying that it has filed extensive paperwork detailing numerous violations with the Central Electoral Commission.
The Central Election Commission has counted 100% of the ballots in the parliamentary election in Moldova.
According to preliminary results published on the commission’s web site, the ruling PAS party of pro-EU President Maia Sandu has secured a narrow majority, claiming 50.2%. The Patriotic Bloc and other opposition forces jointly got 49.8%.
PAS lost to the opposition inside Moldova, but was able to squeeze into the lead due to the vote of the diaspora abroad.
The head of the Moldovan Central Electoral Commission (CEC), Angelica Caraman, has commented on the opposition’s claims of large-scale falsifications by President Maia Sandu’s government.
“The commission calls upon all competitors in the election and the public to refrain from making such statements,” she said.
After the results of the vote are finalized by the CEC, they will be submitted to the Constitutional Court, which is authorized to confirm or refute the legitimacy of the election, Caraman explained.
There have been attempts at provocations at the opposition protest in Chisinau, with videos from the scene capturing a man being removed from the crowd by police after shouting “Glory to Ukraine.”
Former Moldovan President Igor Dodon, who is one of the leaders of the Patriotic Bloc, has said the ruling PAS party has again lost the election inside Moldova, winning only around 44% of the vote, while the opposition forces jointly received more than 49%.
President Maia Sandu’s party only moved ahead due to votes from the Moldovan diaspora abroad, which “did everything” for her to remain in power, Dodon said during a rally outside the parliament in Chisinau.
One of the leaders of the opposition Patriotic Bloc, former Moldovan President Igor Dodon, has told a crowd in Chisinau that it is too early for the government of President Maia Sandu to celebrate a win in the parliamentary election. “Victory will be ours,” he proclaimed.
The Moldovan authorities scared many people from going to the polls, but there are many in the country who “hate” the ruling PAS party, he claimed during a rally outside the parliament.
The opposition’s complaints about manipulation by Sandu’s government during the vote will be considered by the Central Elector Commission in the next couple of days, Dodon said. He also urged the demonstrators to remain peaceful and ignore provocations.
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov has declined to comment on the results of the parliamentary vote in Moldova, telling journalists that “any assessments can only be made after the political forces [inside the country] themselves have outlined their stance regarding this election.”
However, Peskov stressed that “from what we see and know, hundreds of thousands of Moldovans were deprived of the opportunity to vote from Russia because only two polling stations were opened for them.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has welcomed the outcome of the parliamentary election in Moldova, in which pro-EU President Maia Sandu’s ruling PAS party won 50.16% of the ballot, according to preliminary results.
"Moldova, you’ve done it again. No attempt to sow fear or division could break your resolve. You made your choice clear: Europe. Democracy. Freedom,” she wrote on X.
Chisinau was granted EU candidate status in 2022 together with Kiev, a few months after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict.
"Our door is open. And we will stand with you every step of the way. The future is yours,” von der Leyen said.
The Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM), which had been barred this summer from taking part in the Moldovan election over paperwork issues, has commented on the parliamentary vote, saying that President Maia Sandu’s PAS has “won a new parliamentary majority through manipulating, exploiting fears and eliminating any political competition.”
“The right-wing political force was crushed by informational terror and institutional intimidation,” it said in a statement.
According to the PLDM, the election campaign “was not a clash of ideas, but rather a merciless crackdown. Police were used to intimidate citizens, threats of fines and inspections continued even on election day, and the president's overt interference... irrevocably compromised the electoral process.”
“All these practices demonstrate the existence of a network of interests operating from within state institutions, outside of democratic control, and transforming the state from a guarantor of civil rights into an instrument for maintaining power,” the statement read.
The prime minister of neighboring Romania, Ilie Bolojan, has congratulated Moldova on what he described as “voting in the European direction.” The Romanian government “will stand by Moldova on this path,” he promised in a post on X.
Bolojan claimed that Maia Sandu’s government had organized the election in an “exemplary way” and “coped with a complex of pressures aimed at diverting the people’s will.”
The opposition has accused the Moldovan authorities of committing numerous violations during the vote, especially at polling stations abroad, and is planning to stage a protest in the capital, Chisinau, later on Monday. The residents of the predominately Russian-speaking breakaway region of Transnistria have complained about the police blocking bridges across the Dniester River to prevent them from casting their ballots. In addition, only two polling stations were opened in Russia. Moscow's official data suggests that there are approximately 100,000 Molodovans in the country, but experts widely believe there to be at least twice that number.
Just over 12,000 residents of the predominantly Russian-speaking breakaway region of Transnistria have taken part in the parliamentary vote in Moldova, the Central Election Commission’s data has suggested. The region’s population is estimated at almost half a million people.
More than 52% of the voters in Transnistria supported the Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP), which is in opposition to President Maia Sandu’s ruling PAS party.
Only twelve polling stations were opened for the residents of the region ahead of the election by the authorities in Chisinau, despite far more being opened abroad, in countries like Italy.
Officials relocated five of the polling stations to remote areas just days before the vote, citing security reasons. Transnistria residents also complained that Moldovan police had blocked bridges across the Dniester River on Saturday, preventing them from casting their ballots.
The turnout in the Moldovan parliamentary election has reached 52.17%, with over 1.6 million voting, the Central Electoral Commission has said after counting 99.8% of the ballots.
Moldova’s ruling PAS party has secured a narrow majority in parliamentary elections, according to preliminary results published by the Central Election Commission. Votes from abroad pushed the party past the threshold needed to continue governing on its own.
Inside the country, PAS received only 44.13% of the vote, with its strongest support in the capital, Chisinau, where it polled at 52.68%.
Initial counts suggested the party would fall short of an outright majority. But as ballots from overseas trickled in – where PAS dominates, taking over 85% in some countries – its overal total rose and eventually crossed the 50% line.
The ruling Party of Action and Solidarity is polling at 49.9% of the total vote, with the Central Election Commission still awaiting results from 13 overseas polling stations.
The ruling PAS is projected to lose around 10 seats in parliament while still retaining a majority, according to Central Election Commission data. In the 2021 parliamentary election, PAS won 52.8% of the vote, which translated into 63 of the 101 seats in the legislature.
Moldova’s election officials have yet to tally results from 22 overseas polling stations, including 12 in the US, seven in Canada, and one each in Italy, Germany, and Sweden.
The ruling PAS is polling at over 78% abroad, compared with just over 44% support inside the country.
Yuri Vitnyansky, a member of the Revival Party – formerly part of the banned Victory Bloc – accused President Maia Sandu’s government of violating the constitutional rights of hundreds of thousands of Moldovan citizens.
“We witnessed how, with 301 polling stations opened abroad for the diaspora, there was massive segregation, discrimination of our compatriots who live in Russia, where only two stations were opened,” Vitnyansky told reporters. “This is a blatant violation of constitutional rights.”
The number of Moldovans who voted abroad has surpassed 260,000, with 90% of overseas ballots counted. Only four of 23 polling stations in the United States have reported so far, showing 80% support for PAS. Results from eight polling stations in Canada are also still pending.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) has counted all of the votes cast within the country, with the latest data showing the ruling PAS party at 44.13%, while various opposition forces received 49.54%.
However, votes from abroad are still trickling in, and with those counted so far, PAS is gaining 49.70% of the grand total, inching closer to an outright majority in parliament.
Moldova is still awaiting results from eight polling stations in Canada and 23 in the United States, according to the the Central Election Commission website.
These overseas diaspora ballots remain key to solidifying the final seat distribution in parliament. So far, the ruling party has gained 49.68% of the total vote, with 98.15% of polling stations reporting worldwide.
28 September 2025
With more than 81% of overseas ballots counted, PAS is inching closer to an outright majority. The pro-EU ruling party has so far secured nearly 78% of the diaspora vote, lifting its overall share to just over 49.2%. The main opposition Patriotic Bloc trails with about 24.8% of the total vote.
The sharp split between voters inside Moldova and those overseas could prove decisive in determining the final seat distribution in parliament, and whether PAS will need to seek a coalition with opposition forces to form a government.
With 70% of overseas ballots counted, PAS is maintaining a dominant lead among Moldovan citizens abroad, winning 77.6% of the vote. The Patriotic Bloc and Our Party are nearly tied with 5.7% and 5.6% respectively, while the PPDA stands at 5.3%, according to Central Election Commission data.
So far, 211 of 301 foreign polling stations have reported, with nearly 190,000 votes counted. The diaspora has traditionally leaned heavily toward pro-EU parties, and votes from abroad were decisive in Maia Sandu’s narrow reelection as president in 2024.
Controversy has surrounded Moldova’s handling of its expatriate voters. While hundreds of polling stations were opened across Western Europe, only two were available in Russia – where hundreds of thousands of Moldovan citizens reside. Long lines outside the Moscow embassy meant that many were unable to cast their ballots before polls closed.
The ruling PAS is leading in the capital, Chisinau, with 52.7% of the vote after 99.3% of ballots were counted. Across the rest of the country, however, Maia Sandu’s pro-EU party received 44.2%, with 99.9% of polling stations reporting.
With 95% of polling stations reporting inside and outside Moldova, PAS is leading with 47.8% of the vote, according to Central Election Commission data. The Patriotic Bloc is second with 25.7%, followed by the Alternative Bloc with 8.4%. Other parties currently above the threshold needed to enter parliament include Our Party with 6.3% and the PPDA with 5.7%.
With 61% of overseas ballots counted, PAS is dominating among Moldovan citizens abroad with 77.2% of the vote. The Patriotic Bloc trails with 6.0%, followed by Our Party at 5.7% and the PPDA at 5.3%, according to Central Election Commission data.
The diaspora has traditionally leaned strongly toward pro-EU parties, giving PAS a decisive advantage abroad.
With almost all ballots inside Moldova counted, except for the capital Chisinau. With 99.6% of polling stations reporting, the ruling PAS is ahead with 44.2% of the vote, followed by the Patriotic Bloc with 28.2% and the Alternative Bloc with 9.2%. Our Party stands at 6.4%, while the PPDA has 5.7%.
The bulk of the remaining ballots are expected from overseas voters. In the past, the diaspora vote has proved decisive – most notably in the contested 2024 presidential election, when ballots cast abroad helped Maia Sandu narrowly secure reelection.
Just 4,109 Moldovan citizens were able to cast ballots in Russia, according to Central Election Commission data. Chisinau opened only two polling stations in the country, despite estimates that some 250,000 Moldovans reside there, and sent just 10,000 ballot papers.
Queues formed outside both sites, with some voters traveling from other regions. Not everyone managed to vote – after the stations closed, people were still left outside waiting to cast their ballots.
Final results from Moscow show the Patriotic Bloc leading with 67.4%, followed by PAS with 11.6%, Our Party and the Alternative Bloc each with 5.5%, and Democracy at Home with about 3.5%.
Crowds in Moscow were heard shouting “Open the polling station!” on Saturday night, according to videos published by Sputnik Moldova earlier in the day.
With over 90% of ballots counted, opposition parties collectively lead ahead of the ruling PAS, which has just over 46%, according to Central Election Commission data. The main opposition Patriotic Bloc holds 27%, followed by the Alternative Bloc with 8.7%, Our Party with 6.3%, and Democracy at Home with 5.7%.
With about 85% of ballots counted, the ruling party has secured 45.1% of the vote, while the main opposition BEP trails with 27.6%.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu is “deeply committed to the agenda of Washington, which is the containment and the weakening of Russia and China,” lawyer and journalist Dimitry Laskar has told RT.
“I think really the acid test for people trying to assess whether Maya Sandu is acting in the interests of the people of Moldova is to look at her primary objective, which is to integrate Moldova into the European Union in the broader context. And the broader context is that the European Union is falling apart,” he claimed.
Laskar added that the economies of the main EU states are in deep trouble, and there are “tremendous amounts of political unrest there.”
The leaders of the Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP) have announced the opposition parties’ victory in the election, and are picketing outside the Central Electoral Commission to demand they permit no fraud, TASS has reported, citing its on-scene correspondent.
Some 82% of the ballots have been counted, and the ruling party has secured more than 44% of the votes. The main opposition BEP has fallen behind with just under 28%.
People dancing near the polling station in Moscow.
BEP members have organized a flash protest outside of the Moldovan Central Electoral Commission, which is staffed by members of the ruling party, accusing them of rigging the vote.
With 60% of the votes counted, PAS has secured 43%, while the opposition BEP has fallen to 29%.
After processing 50% of the ballots, Moldova’s ruling party has received 42.40% of the vote, while the opposition BEP has received 29.85% of the vote.
Moldova’s ruling party has received 40.19% of the vote in the elections, while the opposition Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP) has received 31.29% of the vote, the Central Election Commission reported after processing 30% of ballots.
A protest is taking place in Chisinau, outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building.
With 20% of votes counted, Gagauzia supports the Patriotic Bloc leading with 86% of the votes, while Sandu's PAS only got 3%.
President Maia Sandu’s government uses the “Russian interference” claim to justify its own “undemocratic actions,” George Szamuely, a senior research fellow at the UK-based Global Policy Institute think tank, has told RT.
Chisinau banned opposition political parties, prevented observers from monitoring the parliamentary vote, and barred candidates from running under the guise of fighting this alleged interference, he said. Sandu used the same tactics during the 2024 presidential election, the analyst said, adding that “she probably will steal the election outright.” The government could launch a “crackdown” and annul the results, as well as resort to arrests of opposition leaders if it deems the outcome unfavorable, he warned.
According to Szamuely, the EU is meddling in Moldovan politics to a much larger extent than Russia by funneling large amounts of money into the country in the form of “aid” and threatening to cut it off if Moldovans “don’t vote the right way.”
“That is outrageous interference,” the analyst said. “Russia has done nothing even remotely comparable to that.”
President Maia Sandu’s rhetoric has been very divisive, Tariq Cyril Amar, a historian and associate professor at KOC University, Istanbul, has told RT. She is “polarizing” public opinion by essentially threatening to annul the parliamentary vote if it does not go her way, he said.
Sandu “has reached a stage that is really quite openly authoritarian, where she is in essence telling the voters: ‘you either vote for me or we try another time until you vote for me’,” according to the historian.
First diaspora results: show that 83% voted for Sandu’s PAS. However, no votes yet counted from Russia, where the Sandu government only opened two polling stations for hundreds of thousands of Moldovans.
Sandu’s party is now leading opposition Patriotic Bloc by 37.57% to 34.76%, after counting 15% of ballots from polling stations.
The opposition Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP) is leading with 36.64% of the vote in the parliamentary elections, while the ruling party has won 35.82%, according to the Central Election Commission, after counting 10% of ballots from polling stations.
“The meddling from the EU is of staggering proportions,” senior Research Fellow at Global Policy Institute George Szamuely told RT.
He also explained how the EU was using bribes and straight-up threats to hold on to Moldova.
Party of Socialists leader and former President Igor Dodon called on Moldovans to protest after the parliamentary elections.
”Tomorrow, at 12:00, we will meet in front of the parliament building for a peaceful protest in defense of the people’s choice. We appeal to all of society, to all political forces – regardless of their ideological orientation – as well as to opinion leaders, calling for unity,” Dodon wrote on Facebook. He also asked to attend the marching without party symbols, only with the national flag, to defend democracy and the voice of the people.
”Overnight and tomorrow, we will carefully analyze data from the diaspora, as there are well-founded suspicions and signals of possible political interference by the authorities in the voting and vote-counting process. Violations have already been recorded. We are also aware of abuses against voters that are inconvenient for the authorities”.
Sandu’s government is considering canceling the elections’ results, Party of Socialists leader and former President Igor Dodon has said. He claimed that it “has become an authoritarian regime categorically unwilling to relinquish power”.
“For them, the people’s vote is irrelevant – their priority remains solely the interests of their party sect,” Dodon wrote on Facebook.
Sandu has thanked the Moldovans for participating in the voting. “In some countries the polling stations are still open. Go vote!” she wrote on Facebook.
Polling stations in Moscow have closed, too, but many people still stay outside. Moldovans voting are outraged, demand the station to open.
Polling stations in Moldova are officially closed.
Bridges from Transnistria were opened only 20 minutes before polling stations closed, according to local media.
Earlier today, at least three bridges across the Dniester were closed under the pretext of a “mining incident.”
Moldovan officials have “illegally blocked passage through the checkpoint [to Transnistria],” Transnistrian military officials said.
Moldova could follow the example of Romanian elections, ultimately cancelling elections’ results under a false Russian meddling claim, political consultant and human rights defendant Arnaud Develey has told RT.
Last year, the victory of Calin Georgescu, who ran as an independent in the presidential election, was annulled, citing “irregularities” in his campaign along with intelligence reports alleging Russian interference — claims Moscow has denied.
Earlier this months, prosecutors in Romania took Georgescu to court. He was accused of plotting a coup.
“It’s the last hour to vote. Now, more than ever, your vote can decide what our country will look like. Don’t let others decide for you,” Moldovan President Maia Sandu has written on Facebook.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu’s main role is to be a “bridge” between the EU and her country, as well as to make it look as if there’s a meddling in the elections, a political consultant and human rights defendant Arnaud Develey has told RT.
“Globalists behind Maya Sandu want to weaponize Moldova and essentially turned into a platform for renewed aggression, possibly NATO deployment, probably also provocation towards Transnistria, which is a long-standing geopolitical issue remaining from the Cold War days," he said.
The Moldovan police has warned of “possible destabilizing actions by groups of people, starting at midnight,” as cited by Biziday.
Less than two hours before the end of voting, computers “froze” again at several polling stations in Gagauzia, according to media.
Due to problems with the system, polling station staff are unable to process data, identify voters, or issue ballots.
Moldovan voters in Moscow said they’ve been receiving threatening phone calls. “They’re threatening their families, even their children…their relatives,” a man voting in Russia has told RT.
The polling station in Causeni was reportedly mined — yet again today — and closed.
A bomb threat was reported in Brussels at two polling stations, according to journalists. After the stations were evacuated and police searched the area, voters and observers weren’t allowed into the stations. It could indicate possible ballot fraud, according to journalist Natalia Morar.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has commented on President Maia Sandu’s statement that there might have been “interference” in the elections.
“Sandu has claimed that voters were bribed in the Moldovan elections. I did not expect such candour from her,” Zakharova wrote in Telegram.
Half the voters in Moldova and abroad have already cast their ballots, according to media.
The Transnistrian foreign ministry called on Chisinau, as well as all participants in the international settlement process, including the OSCE as a co-mediator, to lift restrictions and truly ensure the rights and freedoms of the residents of the region.
The Transnistrian foreign ministry reported multiple violations of the rights of local residents with Moldovan citizenship participating in the elections.
“There are widespread cases of so-called ‘phone bombing’ of polling stations where Transnistrian residents vote. Three of these polling stations are currently closed. At a number of polling stations, there is a shortage of ballots, which cannot be explained other than by deliberate actions or the deliberate disruption of the voting process.”
Tiraspol notes that this is nothing more than an extension of the restrictions already imposed on voters from Transnistria a year ago, during the presidential elections. “The Moldovan leadership has deliberately chosen the path of political isolation for the residents of Transnistria, excluding them from the legal framework and blocking their opportunities to participate equally in the electoral process,” the document states.
A Moldovan Information and Security Service employee has been detained in Moscow with two bags of ballots stamped for the ruling party, according to Igor Khlopetsky, a representative of the Greater Moldova party, which was barred from participating in the elections just a few days ago.
“He is a relative of the former head of the Border Police, PAS protege Rosian Vasiloi. He was detained by Russian authorities with two bags of ballots stamped for the ruling party. Dear citizens, the elections are being rigged,” Khlopetsky said.
Moldovan police have stopped traffic on the bridge near the Transnistrian city of Rybnitsa after an anonymous bomb threat, TV-8 has reported. The move has made it harder for residents of the breakaway region to reach polling stations.
Families are stuck on the bridge with children, unable to return back home.
Serbian police arrested two local men earlier this week on suspicion of organizing a training camp to prepare citizens of Moldova and Romania to stage riots after the Moldovan election, Russian media outlets have reported.
Between 150 and 170 men underwent training in the Loznica area in western Serbia between July 16 and September 13, according to the Serbian Interior Ministry.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic reacted to the development by saying that the country “should not become a testing ground for foreign intelligence services.”
The detentions in Serbia followed a massive operation by the Moldovan security services on Monday, in which 250 locations were raided and dozens claiming to have been trained in Serbia to cause unrest in Moldova have been arrested.
A Moldovan court has confirmed the decision by the Central Electoral Commission to ban the Greater Moldova party from the parliamentary election, its leader Victoria Furtuna has said.
Greater Moldova had been disqualified from the vote on Friday on accusations of accepting undeclared foreign funds and violating campaign rules, but remained on the ballot, pending a court ruling.
The Moldovan authorities continue to block bridges across the Dniester River, preventing numerous residents of the predominately Russian-speaking breakaway region of Transnistria from reaching the polling stations, according to a video from the scene.
When asked by RIA Novosti about claims by Telegram founder Pavel Durov that French intelligence had asked him to delete opposition channels ahead of the election in Moldova, Russia Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova replied by saying: “Who would have any doubt.”
“The West is acting shamelessly on all fronts,” Zakharov stressed.
Russian Senator Andrey Klishas reacted by accusing Paris of censorship and interference in the electoral process and the internal affairs of the sovereign state of Moldova.
"Here is everything you wanted to know about the high European democratic standards,” he told the agency.
The Moldovan Foreign Ministry has claimed that there have been at least six bomb threats at polling stations abroad during the country’s parliamentary election.
The incidents occurred in Brussels, Belgium; Rome and Genoa, Italy; Bucharest, Romania; Asheville, North Carolina, US; and Alicante, Spain, it said.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov has said that the French intelligence services had reached out to him, asking him to delete “certain Telegram channels” ahead of the presidential elections in Moldova.
According to Durov, he had been approached by an intermediary about a year ago, who said that in exchange for his cooperation, the French spies would “say good things” about him to the judge that had ordered the entrepreneur’s arrest in August 2024.
The Telegram CEO claimed in a post that the platform did remove several channels from the initial list provided to him by the middleman, as they “clearly violated our rules.”
“Shortly thereafter, the Telegram team received a second list of so-called ‘problematic’ Moldovan channels. Unlike the first, nearly all of these channels were legitimate and fully compliant with our rules. Their only commonality was that they voiced political positions disliked by the French and Moldovan governments. We refused to act on this request,” he wrote.
Durov, who is a citizen of France and several other countries, had been arrested at a Paris airport and charged with complicity in crimes linked to Telegram users, including extremism and child abuse. He was eventually released on bail for €5 million ($5.4 million) and placed under judicial supervision.
More than 30% of eligible voters have already cast their ballots in the parliamentary election in Moldova, the Central Electoral Commission has said.
A Moldovan national has told RT he thinks it is “just wild” that the authorities in Chisinau decided to open only two polling stations in Russia, despite approximately 250,000 Moldovans residing in the country.
"If there is any concept of democracy or a concept of truth, then this does not even come close to these words,” the man said.
The Moldovan authorities have been blocking residents of the predominately Russian-speaking breakaway region of Transnistria on a bridge across the Dniester River for at least three hours, a local resident has said.
People trying to vote in the election are being told to wait in line, but there is no movement, the man told Transnistria News.
The victory of President Maia Sandu's party in the election would become “a disaster” for Moldova, political scientist Evgeny Mikhailov has told RT.
If it happens, “Moldova will be drawn into the conflict in Ukraine, and it is quite possible that some harsh domestic crackdown will begin on those with pro-Russian views,” he said.
“Obviously, Sandu’s victory would see the country further sliding into confrontation with Russia. That is, Moldova will be used against Russian interests and quite likely drawn into military action, or some kind of provocation will be staged in [the breakaway region of] Transnistria,” Mikhailov added.
RT 360° has captured footage of Moldovans in Moscow singing patriotic songs and dancing as they wait in line to cast their votes in the parliamentary election.
The authorities in Chisinau have opened just two polling stations in Russia, despite approximately 250,000 Moldovan nationals residing in the country.
Observers have been denied access to several polling stations in Germany, Spain, Romania, and France, Monitorizez.eu, an independent platform for monitoring the Moldovan election, has said.
According to the platform, it has so far recorded 243 violations, including bribery of voters, illegal campaigning, inaccuracies in voter lists and organized transportation of people to the polling stations.
The turnout in the Moldovan parliamentary election surpassed 20% at around noon, the Central Election Commission has announced.
Opposition leader Igor Dodon, who was Moldova’s president between 2016 and 2020, has cast his ballot in the parliamentary election.
The head of the Patriotic Electoral Bloc addressed the public in a post on Telegram earlier in the day, calling upon the people to come to the polls.
"This is the day when the people are not afraid, but when others are afraid of the people. Let us go out and vote. Let us choose a country where people’s fear disappears. Let us choose a normal life for our citizens. We believe in Moldova!” Dodon wrote.
A Moldovan lawmaker from the Victory opposition coalition, Marina Tauber, has urged the people to refrain from voting for the Greater Moldova party, which was banned from the election on Friday, but remained on the ballot.
According to Tauber, the government of President Maia Sandu did so to cause confusion among the public and later use Greater Moldova’s votes for its own purposes.
Moldovan authorities have blocked several bridges over the Dniester River, which connects the country to the predominantly Russian-speaking breakaway region of Transnistria, RIA Novosti has reported.
The analysts had earlier warned that the government of Maia Sandu could try to prevent those living in the region from voting over concerns that they would support the opposition.
The agency’s correspondent reported a large line of vehicles on the bridge near the settlement of Rybnitsa in Transnistria, while witnesses also told RIA Novosti that another bridge, outside the village of Kamenki, has been shut down.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu has stressed that her PAS (Party of Action and Solidarity) will only form alliances with pro-EU political forces after the parliamentary election.
"Only people who truly believe in European values can form a pro-European majority in the next parliament, and only this way we can move forward,” she said.
The head of Moldova’s autonomous, predominantly Russian-speaking Gagauzia Region, Evgenia Gutsul, has addressed the country’s voters, urging them to speak out against the pro-EU policies of Moldovan President Maia Sandu and her PAS party.
"We must say a firm ‘NO’ to: slavery through external control, endless loans that would burden future generations, and militarization that drags our country into foreign conflicts. Our vote is our peace, our freedom, our sovereignty,” she insisted.
Gutsul had been sentenced by a Moldovan court to seven years in prison for financing her party and an electoral campaign with illicit funds. She is currently appealing the ruling.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu has blamed Russia for interference into the country’s parliamentary election and did not rule out the possibility of the results of the vote being annulled.
Moscow “invests so many resources in this election” because it “wants to take control of power in Moldova so that it could use Moldova against Ukraine, but also against some EU countries,” Sandu told journalists after casting her ballot in Chisinau, without providing any proof to her claims.
Russia has repeatedly denied accusations of meddling in the country's elections.
Some Moldovan nationals have traveled from Russia to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, due to concerns that there will be a lack of ballots in Moscow, one of the voters told RT.
"If there are any blank ballots left today, it will be the worst. It will be their victory,” the man said, referring to the government of Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
Authorities in Chisinau have opened only two polling stations in Russia and delivered just 10,000 ballots, despite an estimated 250,000 voting-age Moldovans living in the country.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu has cast her ballot at one of the polling stations in her nation’s capital, Chisinau.
She addressed the public afterwards, urging the people come to the polls. “Moldova, our dear home, is in trouble and needs help from everyone of you. You can save it with your vote. Tomorrow might be too late,” Sandu claimed.
The votes of the Moldovan diaspora abroad will likely once again have a decisive impact on the results of the parliamentary election as no political power has a clear advantage within the country, Aleksandr Ignatov, the Executive Director of the Russian Public Institute of Electoral Law, has told RIA Novosti.
The problem is that there are “unequal conditions” for the Moldovans in various foreign states when it comes to the voting, he said.
According to Ignatov, the authorities in Chisinau are “deliberately discriminating” against Moldovans living in Russia as they realize that these people are more likely to vote for the opposition.
For example, there are 75 polling stations opened in Italy and only two in Russia, despite between 200,000 and 300,000 Moldovans living in the country, he said.
Natalia Kharitonova, chief researcher at the Russian State University for the Humanities, has told Gazeta.ru that she is “100% certain” that there will be vote rigging by the government of Moldovan President Maia Sandu during the election.
"Manipulations will take place in several areas, including mail-in voting in certain foreign countries and voting across all European states, in general. The authorities are also doing everything possible to prevent people from [the breakaway region of] Transnistria from voting,” she claimed.
According to Kharitonova, the ruling party will resort to such tactics due to low ratings. “I am confident that PAS (Party of Action and Solidarity) will not be able to win without fraud,” she said.
The Greater Moldova opposition party, which had been barred from the parliamentary election on Friday on accusations of accepting undeclared foreign funds and violating campaign rules, will remain on the ballot until a court decision on the issue is made, the deputy head of Moldova’s Central Electoral Commission, Pavel Postica, has said.
Morning voting at a polling station in Chisinau, according to video published by Sputnik Moldova.
Large crowds gathered outside Moldova’s embassy in Moscow, with Sputnik Moldova noting there was more activity there than in Chisinau itself. Volunteers handed out tea to voters waiting in line.
“It’s important for me to express my civic position, because all my family remains in Moldova. I want there to be normal government in the country,” said Anastasia, a Moldovan voter in Moscow.
Following the Central Electoral Commission’s decision to bar several opposition groups, 22 contenders remain in Moldova’s parliamentary race – 14 parties, four blocs, and four independents.
The parliament has 101 seats, elected for a four-year term under a proportional system in a single nationwide constituency. To enter parliament, parties must pass a 5% threshold, blocs 7%, and independents 2%. Seats are distributed according to the d’Hondt method.
The election will only be validated if at least one-third of registered voters take part.
Moldovan citizens in 11 countries – including Australia, Canada, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and several European states – are able to vote by mail in this election.
To cast a ballot in person, citizens must present an identity card or passport, and authorities have said that even expired documents will be accepted.
The CEC denied accreditation to more than 30 international organizations and 120 observers from over 50 countries this week. Among those barred were Russian experts nominated to the OSCE’s official mission – a first in European electoral practice.
Moldova’s Foreign Ministry claimed the decision was taken “in line with national law.” The Patriotic Bloc, an opposition alliance, accused the authorities of deliberately creating an observer blackout. Its lawyers cited applications from reputable NGOs in Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and the US that were ignored or rejected.
Moscow has called the move a “blatant breach” of OSCE commitments and summoned Moldova’s ambassador. The EU, usually vocal and critical of democracy standards in the region, has remained conspicuously silent.
Dozens of Moldovan citizens lined up outside their country’s embassy in Moscow even before polling stations opened, according to a Sputnik correspondent on the scene.
Brussels has consistently praised Sandu’s government, calling Moldova “a success story” and advancing its bid for EU membership. Just this week, EU officials accused Moscow of “deeply interfering” in the elections through disinformation and illicit funding.
“Moldovan people have the right to choose their own future free from interference,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in June, announcing that “this is why we are extending the scope and scale of the EU’s partnership mission.”
“We have a specialist team on the ground to address illicit financing, and we have recently deployed an expert hybrid response team to support Moldova against foreign interference,” she added. “You can rely on EU support to ensure the integrity of your elections.”
More than 2,200 polling stations have officially opened across Moldova at 7:00am local time and will remain open until 9:00pm for voting. An additional 301 polling sites are open abroad, including just two in Russia.
On the eve of the parliamentary election, authorities in Chisinau closed the bridge over the Dniester River between the Transnistrian city of Rybnitsa and Rezina on the opposite bank, blocking even pedestrian access.
Photos and videos shared online showed the crossing sealed off with road signs, though no repair work appeared to be underway. The Transnistrian delegation to the Joint Control Commission accused Moldova of staging “fake repairs” to restrict voter movement, noting that during last year’s presidential election the same bridge was closed due to alleged bomb threat, according to Sputnik.
Moldovan citizens in the breakaway region of Transnistria have also been disenfranchised, with only a handful of polling stations approved, all located on government-controlled land east of the Dniester. The Central Election Commission abruptly relocated several sites further inland, citing police and intelligence warnings of possible unrest.
The Transnistrian delegation to the Joint Control Commission criticized the move as politically motivated, insisting that existing peacekeeping mechanisms were sufficient to ensure order. Local foreign minister Vitaly Ignatiev called the reduction of polling places from more than 40 in past elections to just 12 this year a “destructive attempt” to limit voting rights.
After President Maia Sandu narrowly won reelection in a contested vote last year, thanks largely to ballots cast abroad, Moscow accused Chisinau of disenfranchising Moldovan citizens living in Russia.
Around 280 polling stations are open abroad this year – but only two inside Russia. Last October, representatives of the Moldovan diaspora in Russia lodged a petition with their country’s embassy in Moscow, protesting the insufficient number of polling stations. The activists estimated at the time that more than 300,000 Moldovan nationals were residing in Russia.
While there is no official data on the total number of Moldovans living in the EU, some estimates based on Foreign Ministry statistics put the figure at around 700,000.
The pro-Western government in Chisinau has also imposed sweeping restrictions on the media in recent years. Citing the need to combat Russian disinformation, the Security and Intelligence Service (SIS), which reports directly to the president, revoked the licenses of multiple TV channels known for their critical stance. Broadcasts from Russian networks were suspended, while dozens of opposition-linked websites and Telegram channels were blocked.
Under Moldova’s Electoral Code, political campaigning is strictly banned both on election day and the day before. Candidates are not allowed to appear on television or radio, while local authorities and advertisers must remove campaign materials from public spaces and billboards.
Just ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, Moldova’s Central Election Commission (CEC) barred two opposition parties from participating.
Greater Moldova and Heart of Moldova were both accused of violating campaign rules by allegedly failing to declare foreign funding.
The SOR Party, led by exiled businessman Ilan Shor, was declared unconstitutional and banned in June 2023. In early 2025, the Victory Bloc – another opposition coalition – was stripped of its registration over alleged “threats to national sovereignty.” Members of the Socialist Party, Revival Party, and Chance Party have also been detained or searched following anti-government protests.