Moldovans cast ballots in a tense election plagued by Russian interference claims

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CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Moldovans are heading to the polls to 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. (0400 GMT) and will close at 9 p.m. (1800 GMT). The Central Electoral Commission reported 130,000 people, or about 4.7% of eligible voters, had cast ballots by 9 a.m.

The tense 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.

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.

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 towards 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 large diaspora is expected to play a decisive role in Sunday’s outcome. In last year’s presidential run-off — 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 pro-Western President Maia 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.

In recent years, as the country has lurched from crisis to crisis, Moldovans have faced rampant inflation, 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%.

Iulian Groza, executive director of the Institute for European Policies and Reforms think tank, says the higher the turnout, the more likely it is that PAS can secure a majority.

“Any party in government has a tendency to erode in public support, and in the last four years, Moldova has experienced multiple crises,” he said. “After four years … despite various crises we had, I think we can say very clearly that Moldova resisted in the face of this Russian aggression.”