EU-aligned party wins Moldova election, defeats pro-Russian bloc

Moldova’s pro-EU ruling party won a decisive parliamentary majority, hailed by the EU as a boost for the country’s “European future” amid alleged Russian pressure.

With nearly all votes tallied from Sunday’s high-stakes election, the pro-Western Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), led by President Maia Sandu, had garnered over 50 percent of the vote. 

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The result ensures the party will hold a working majority in the 101-seat parliament, securing its mandate to continue the country's path toward EU accession.  

Coming second, the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc won approximately 24 percent of the vote.

Many viewed the election as a geopolitical battle for the small, impoverished nation bordering Ukraine.

In the weeks leading up to the vote, Moldovan authorities warned of what they described as an alleged "hybrid war" by the Kremlin, claiming it involved multi-million-euro vote-buying schemes, disinformation campaigns, and plots to stir post-election unrest.

Russia has repeatedly denied all accusations of election meddling.  

On Friday, President Maia Sandu called the vote the country’s “most consequential election”. “Its outcome will decide whether we consolidate our democracy and join the EU, or whether Russia drags us back into a grey zone, making us a regional risk,” Sandu wrote on X.

Analysts have described the result as a significant diplomatic and security win for Brussels, anchoring its eastern neighbor outside of Moscow’s sphere of influence.