Moldova's pro-European Union ruling party won a resounding victory over its Russian-leaning rival in a key parliamentary election, results showed on Monday, an endorsement of Moldova's bid to join the bloc and break free from Moscow's orbit.
The election will have a major impact on the government's quest to join the European Union, as a popular pro-Russian group sought to steer the small nation away from closer ties with the bloc.
Power in the former Soviet republic has swung for decades between pro-European and pro-Russian groups. About a third of the country - Transdniestria, east of the Dniestr river - is controlled by a breakaway pro-Russian administration, and hosts a small Russian garrison.
As of press time, the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS0 ws leading comfortably with 47% versus 27% for the Patriotic Bloc, which opposes closer ties with Brussels and is notably pro-Russian.
If neither side wins a majority in the 101-seat chamber, political horse trading is likely to follow, further unsettling one of Europe's poorest countries, buffeted by war in neighboring Ukraine and by suspected Russian meddling in politics and religion.
To a government aspiring to join the EU, control of parliament is vital for the long-term legislative efforts required.
Moldovans vote in high-stakes election
President Maia Sandu cast the election as an existential test for the country of 2.4 million, which also has close cultural and linguistic ties with its western neighbor, Romania, and says an extensive Russian campaign to sway the vote is a direct threat.
"If Russia gains control over Moldova, the consequences will be immediate and dangerous for our country and for the entire region," Sandu said in an address last Monday.
Polls indicated that the PAS could struggle to keep its majority.
Opposition forces like the Patriotic Bloc have tapped into voter unease over economic turmoil and the slow pace of reforms, grievances worsened by what officials say has been widespread disinformation.
In recent weeks, authorities have launched hundreds of raids targeting illegal party financing and allegedly Russian-backed networks aimed at stirring unrest over the vote.
On Friday, the Election Commission barred Heart of Moldova, part of the Patriotic Bloc, from the election while it is investigated for illicit funding.
Stanislav Secrieru, Sandu's national security adviser, said election infrastructure and government websites had come under cyber attack, and that fake bomb threats were called into polling stations in Moldova and abroad.
Moscow has denied meddling and says the PAS-controlled government is spreading anti-Russian hysteria to win votes.
Authorities late on Sunday had warned of attempts to stir unrest following the vote, part of a campaign that they blamed on Russian-backed efforts to disrupt the election if it did not go in the bloc's favor.
Sandu and PAS have cast European integration as key to Moldova's future and escaping the influence of Moscow, its Soviet-era ruler.
But many voters appear more focused on domestic issues, wary of what closer ties with the EU might mean for Moldova's heavily agricultural economy. Regional income disparities have added to the uncertainty.
If it loses its majority, PAS will be forced to seek coalition partners among opponents like the center-left Alternative bloc or the populist Our Party, if they pass the threshold to enter parliament.