Moldova: Ruling pro-EU party wins election

DW asked Moldovan President Maia Sandu if she believes that Brussels will honor its commitment to welcoming her country into the EU if Moldova implements the necessary reforms to become eligible for membership.

In the past, other countries' EU membership bids have stalled or become caught up in institutional deadlock driven by internal disagreements among EU states.

"I do believe in meritocracy. I do understand that the geopolitics can change and sometimes this can become an impediment. But we are determined to work very hard," Sandu said at her press conference in Chisinau.

"We do have positive reports from Brussels on the steps that we have made so far, and we will do our best not to miss this opportunity," she added.

With 100% of the ballots counted, Maia Sandu's pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity won 50.2% of the votes in Sunday's election. The pro-Russia Patriotic Bloc came in second with 24.2%.

Not everyone in Moldova is happy with the results of Sunday's high-stakes election. On Monday afternoon, a few hundred supporters of the pro-Russian opposition bloc showed up to a planned demonstration outside Moldova's parliament in Chisinau.

"They falsified the results," one woman claimed. Others accused Moldovan authorities of trying to prevent people from voting, a claim echoed in Moscow. 

Members of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organisations said in a press conference on Monday that voting in Moldova was "competitive and offered citizens a clear choice" and commended officials' and citizens' "resilience."

However, observers raised some concerns about another issue that kept coming up at the opposition rally: a last-minute decision by Moldovan authorities to ban two small pro-Russian parties from running in Sunday's election over suspected illegal financing. 

Election observer Paula Cardoso said the timing limited the candidates' rights to "seek effective remedy" but noted that electoral authorities "otherwise managed technical preparations of these elections professionally and efficiently."

Outside the parliament, opposition leaders led the crowd in chants of "Moldova, Moldova, Moldova" and "Freedom." Then, en masse, the supporters all left and head off in the same direction.

Earlier on Monday, Moldovan police said they "had information" that some people had been promised cash to participate in the protest. 

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has said the election win by her pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) showed both her country's unity under pressure and its people's strong support for the government's European aspirations.

The PAS' victory "showed that we know how to be united when the future of our country is in danger," she said.

"Yesterday's vote is a strong mandate for the process of Moldova's accession to the EU," she told reporters.

Her remarks come against the background of accusations leveled at Moscow over its alleged attempts at interference in the elections, which saw the PAS pitted against a Russia-friendly rival party.

With over 99.96% of ballots counted, Sandu's PAS had received 50.17% of the vote, as against 24.18% for the pro-Russia Patriotic bloc, according to figures from the election commission.

The result, slightly lower for the PAS than at previous elections in 2021, means that PAS is likely to hold 55 seats in the 101-member parliament, down from the current 63 seats.

The leader of Moldova's pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) has said Sunday's election was a fight against "enemies of our country that once seemed impossible to defeat" and a "final battle for the future."

Igor Grosu, whose party handed a heavy defeat to its Russia-friendly rival, said that Moscow had used "vile" tactics in an attempt to turn the vote in its favor.

"The Russian Federation threw into battle everything it had that was most vile — mountains of money, mountains of lies, mountains of illegalities. It used criminals to try to turn our entire country into a haven for crime. It filled everything with hatred," he said.

"We know and understand that many did not vote for the party, but for the European future of the country and to protect the country from a pro-Russian majority," he added.

The Kremlin has accused Moldovan authorities of preventing hundreds of thousands from casting a ballot in Sunday's parliamentary elections.

Moscow said Moldovans living in Russia had only two polling stations at their disposal to submit their vote.

However, when asked whether Moscow recognized the results, which saw a Russia-friendly party suffer a heavy defeat at the hands of its pro-EU opponent, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said only that "some political forces" in Moldova had alleged election violations.

"First, Moldovans themselves should probably sort this out. As far as we know, some political forces are declaring their disagreement. They're talking about possible election violations," he said.
Moldovan authorities and the EU have accused Russia of having meddled in the election.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has congratulated Moldova's ruling pro-EU party on its victory in parliamentary elections, saying the win came despite Moscow's efforts to subvert the result.

"Russia failed to destabilize Moldova even after spending huge, huge resources to undermine it and to corrupt whoever they could," Zelenskyy said in an address via video link to a conference in the Polish capital, Warsaw.

Moldova, a former Soviet republic, borders on Ukraine to the north, east and south. 

The leaders of Germany, France and Poland have issued a joint statement praising Moldova for its election result, which saw the ruling pro-EU party of President Maia Sandu deliver a resounding defeat to its Russia-friendly opponent.

"We commend the Moldovan society and authorities for the peaceful conduct of the election, despite unprecedented interference by Russia, including with vote-buying schemes and disinformation," said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The result from Sunday's election is being seen as an endorsement of Moldova's aspirations to join the European Union while moving further from Russia's sphere of influence.

Moldovan parliamentarian Radu Marian, a member of the ruling pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) that won Sunday's election, has said the whole of Europe should celebrate the result.

 "There should be relief in all of Europe because peace, progress, democracy has won," Marian said in Chisinau in an interview with DW's Rosie Birchard.

"I think we did a great job in fighting the mighty Russian dictatorship. We fought with them and not necessarily the opposition," Marian added, referring to accusations by Moldovan authorities of election interference by Moscow.  

Moldovan government spokesman Daniel Voda told DW that the result was "a celebration of democracy" and pointed toward Europe  

"Moldovan people in the country and abroad have spoken," he  said.

"This vote for pro-European parties and for the majority in the parliament for pro-European parties is showing that the direction is clear: Moldovan people want peace, development under the European Union family."

The EU announced the start of accession talks with Moldova in December 2023, and negotiations officially began in June 2024.

Moldova has set a target date of 2028 for accession to the bloc.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has praised Moldova for the results in Sunday's parliamentary election, in which the pro-EU ruling PAS party won more than half of the votes.

In a post on X, von der Leyen said the country had chosen Europe, democracy and freedom.

"No attempt to sow fear or division could break your resolve. You made your choice clear: Europe. Democracy. Freedom," she said.

"Our door is open. And we will stand with you every step of the way. The future is yours," von der Leyen added.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola also hailed the election result.

"The future of Moldova is in Europe!" Metsola wrote.

"On this historic step forward, the people of Moldova have chosen the path of democracy, hope and opportunities. They have chosen Europe," she said.

French President Emmanuel Macron has welcomed the PAS' victory and said his country supports Moldova's path toward EU membership.

"The Moldovan people have clearly made their choice, in spite of the attempts of outside interference," Macron wrote on X.

"France stands beside Moldova in its European aspirations and its desire for freedom and sovereignty," he added.

Moldovan authorities are braced for protests on Monday after former President Igor Dodon, one of the leaders of the pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc that lost the parliamentary election, accused the pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) of stealing the vote.

"If during the night there are falsifications, tomorrow we won't recognize (the result of) the parliamentary elections [...] and we will ask for elections to be repeated," he said late on Sunday outside the electoral commission.

President Maia Sandu and the EU have accused Moscow of trying to sway the vote through widespread disinformation and vote-buying.

Moldova's ruling party, the pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), has won Sunday's parliamentary elections.

PAS took more than 50% of the vote, official results showed on Monday.

With over 99.5% of ballots counted, the PAS, led by President Maia Sandu, received 50.03% of the vote, compared to 24.26% for the pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc, according to results published on the election commission's website.
 

With Moldova's ruling pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) on track to top polls in the closely-watched parliamentary election, PAS lawmaker Radu Marian said it was a victory for all of Europe.

"There should be relief in all Europe because peace, progress, democracy is won," Marian told DW.

"And I think we did a great job in fighting the mighty Russian dictatorship. We fought with them and not necessarily the opposition."

Daniel Voda, Moldovan government spokesperson, echoed a similar sentiment.

"Basically, what we see now is a celebration of democracy. Moldovan people in the country and abroad have spoken," he said.

"Moldovan people want peace, development under the European Union family," he added.

With 98% of votes counted, the results showed that around half of Moldovans favored staying on the EU course. 

The ruling pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), which has held a strong parliamentary majority since 2021, secured 49.6% of ballots, according to preliminary results.

The pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc came second, winning 24.6%.

More than 1.59 million, or about 51.9% of eligible voters, had voted in the election, the Central Electoral Commission reported.

Some 276,000 Moldovans have cast their ballots in polling stations abroad, which will remain open until 7 p.m. in their respective countries.

The vote-counting continues apace in Moldova.

With more than 90% of votes counted, the ruling pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) has won 46% of ballots versus 27% for the pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc, according to the country's Central Electoral Commission.