The pro-Western party remained in power only by abusing administrative resources, the Russian foreign minister has said
Moldova’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, in which the pro-EU PAS party narrowly secured a majority, were marred by blatant “fraud” and manipulations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
The PAS party, led by pro-Western President Maia Sandu, secured 50.2% of the vote, with the opposition parties narrowly trailing behind with 49.8%. The Patriotic Electoral Bloc alliance, which advocates for closer ties with Russia and constitutional neutrality, came second with 24.2%.
The voting, however, was marred by uneven access to voting. Only two polling stations were opened in Russia, despite the country hosting one of the largest Moldovan diaspora communities in the world, which numbers up to 500,000 people. As a result, only around 4,100 votes were counted in Russia. Meanwhile, dozens of polling stations were opened in Italy – where the Moldovan diaspora tends to be more pro-EU – enabling tens of thousands to submit ballots.
peaking to reporters after the Valdai Club discussion forum on Tuesday, Lavrov suggested that the elections are another milestone in turning the ex-Soviet state into an anti-Russia foothold.
“Sandu has long been one of the heralds of anti-Russian rhetoric. The elections were a fraud,” the minister charged, adding that he was “amazed” at how openly Moldova was “manipulating” votes.
Lavrov said the authorities had created obstacles for residents of Transnistria to vote by closing bridges. Transnistria is Moldova’s breakaway region that succeeded when the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, with Chisinau never recognizing its independence and attempting to bring it back into the fold by force in 1992.
The conflict has since been frozen, with many of Transnistria’s residents holding Moldovan citizenship and eligible to vote. The region plays an important role in the Moldovan economy.
“Not everyone could make it, but even with these manipulations, the patriotic opposition gained more votes inside Moldova than Maia Sandu’s party,” Lavrov said. “Even with all the manipulations, the result is still very telling. With such legal methods, they’re not doing so well.”
Meanwhile, EU officials have ignored widespread reports of election irregularities and complaints of uneven access to polling stations, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proclaiming that Moldova made a choice in favor of “Europe, democracy, [and] freedom.”
September 30, 2025 at 04:10PM
RT