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Moldovans began voting on Sunday in crucial parliamentary elections that will determine whether the country, an EU candidate, continues on its pro-European path or shifts closer to Moscow.
The current government and the European Union have both accused Russia of “deeply interfering” in the vote through an “unprecedented campaign of disinformation.”
The pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), led by President Maia Sandu, is projected to be in the lead.
Sandu warned the election is Moldova’s “most consequential,” stating the outcome will decide if the country “consolidate[s] our democracy and join[s] the EU, or whether Russia drags us back into a grey zone.”
The opposition, which is largely pro-Russian, has denied Moscow’s alleged interference and, in turn, has accused the PAS government of planning fraud.
Voters in the nation of 2.4 million have expressed frustration over economic hardship.
Analysts predict that high turnout from the large, pro-PAS diaspora and the pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria will be key.
In the days leading up to the vote, prosecutors conducted hundreds of searches related to “electoral corruption”, and the electoral commission excluded two pro-Russian parties over financing irregularities.
