Skip next section Party of Action and Solidarity maintains lead with 70% of votes counted
09/28/2025September 28, 2025
Party of Action and Solidarity maintains lead with 70% of votes counted
Moldova’s Central Election Commission said the pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) had 44% of the vote after 70% of ballots had been counted.
Meanwhile, the pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc had won 28% of the vote.
The vote count is still underway in most parts of the country.
https://p.dw.com/p/51CYY
09/28/2025September 28, 2025
Party of Action and Solidarity winning most votes in early counting — Electoral Commission
Moldova’s ruling pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) has won 40% of the ballots counted so far in the parliamentary election, with 31.5% of the votes going to the pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc, according to the country’s Central Electoral Commission.
These figures come with 28% of votes counted.
https://p.dw.com/p/51CXf
Skip next section Polling stations close in Moldova
09/28/2025September 28, 2025
Polling stations close in Moldova
Polling stations have closed for Moldova’s high-stakes parliamentary elections, which are crucial for the country’s political future.
Although exit polls were not conducted, preliminary results are expected later today.
The Central Electoral Commission reported that more than 1.59 million people had cast their ballots by 9 p.m. local time (18:00 GMT), accounting for approximately 51.9% of eligible voters.
This figure includes the 264,000 Moldovans who voted at polling stations set up abroad. These stations will remain open until 7 p.m. local time.
https://p.dw.com/p/51CPb
Skip next section How do Transnistrians vote?09/28/2025September 28, 2025
How do Transnistrians vote?
We meet people queuing up in the village of Gura Bicului at one of the polling stations where voters from the pro-Russian can cast their ballots.
They cross the nearby border and line up to vote, showing the Moldovan ID documents that entitle them to vote despite living in a region controlled by pro-Russian separatist authorities where Russian troops have been stationed for decades. Transnistria is not internationally recognized.
“Yes, I want to be closer to Russia,” one woman tells us. “I think every Transnistrian does. Right?” she asks others in the line. “Right,” she says, answering her own question. In fact, it’s more nuanced than that. Several others say they are not sure what they’ll decide.
When voting is delayed in the afternoon by what officials tell us are server issues, one man from Transnistria tells us he’s sure the Moldovan authorities are trying to stop him from casting his ballot. Voting resumes shortly afterward and he heads inside.
https://p.dw.com/p/51CIg
Skip next section Moldova’s undecided voters 09/28/2025September 28, 2025
Moldova’s undecided voters
Many of the people we’ve spoken to here in Moldova told us they had not yet made up their mind who to vote for as they headed into the ballot box.
That’s the case for 42-year-old Vitaly, whom we meet while he and his family harvest beetroot under the sun in a field in the south of Moldova.
Politics feels far away here, and Vitaly says he feels neutral about whether Moldova should be closer to Russia or the West.
Undecided voters like Vitaly, as well as the lack of polling for Moldova’s diaspora and for those living in the pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria, make the results of these crucial elections very hard to predict.
https://p.dw.com/p/51CIE
Skip next section WATCH — Why is Moldova’s upcoming parliamentary election so pivotal?09/28/2025September 28, 2025
WATCH — Why is Moldova’s upcoming parliamentary election so pivotal?
The parliamentary election in the Republic of Moldova on September 28 is not only crucial for the country itself, but it will also be watched closely in capitals across Europe and in Moscow.
Sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania, which is a member of both the EU and , Moldova has gained major geopolitical significance since .
The current government in Chisinau is unequivocally pro-European.
Pro-Russian opposition candidates blame the government and the EU for the country’s problems.
But what about the people?
Amid economic hardship, corruption, massive emigration in recent decades, and a war in neighboring Ukraine, Moldovans seem to believe that everything will be determined by one question: Europe or ?
https://p.dw.com/p/51BEt
Skip next section Former President Dodon calls for Monday rally as voting continues
09/28/2025September 28, 2025
Former President Dodon calls for Monday rally as voting continues
Igor Dodon, and a member of the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc, said Sunday’s vote is a day when “the people are not afraid, but others are afraid of the people.”
After casting his ballot, Dodon also dismissed the claims made by his rivals of “massive interference” by Moscow, insisting that “the interference came from the West.”
“We saw this interference through various foundations, through (US billionaire George) Soros and non-governmental organizations that intimidated people. We believe this to be wrong, we are in favor of good relations with the East and the West,” Dodon told reporters.
While the outcome of the vote will not be known until Sunday evening at the earliest, Dodon said it was “already clear that the opposition will win.”
“But President Maia Sandu has indicated that the outcome of the election could be annulled, . This is why I am calling on everyone to join the protest at 12:00 at the parliament building, to protect our victory,” he was quoted as saying by Russia’s Interfax news agency.
https://p.dw.com/p/51C13
Skip next section How Russia maintains its grip on breakaway Transnistria
09/28/2025September 28, 2025
How Russia maintains its grip on breakaway Transnistria
Moldova, once a part of the Soviet Union, became independent after its collapse. However, Moscow still has troops in the ethnically mixed region of Transnistria, where pro-Russian separatist maintain a Soviet-style dictatorship over some 13% of Moldovan population.
Read our .
https://p.dw.com/p/51BlH
Skip next section Pro-EU President Maia Sandu accuses Russia of ‘massive interference’
09/28/2025September 28, 2025
Pro-EU President Maia Sandu accuses Russia of ‘massive interference’
Moldovan President Maia Sandu cast her vote at a polling station in the capital, Chisinau, on Sunday morning, warning that the eastern European country could “lose everything it has won” in its fight to break out of Russia’s orbit.
She also accused the Kremlin of “massive interference” and said Moldova was “in danger.”
“Russia wants to take control of our country so that it can use it against Ukraine and the European Union. From here, it could train people for illegal actions or even launch drones, as it does from Belarus,” Sandu told reporters outside the polling station.
https://p.dw.com/p/51BXS
Skip next section Why is Moldova is so important to Russia and Europe?09/28/2025September 28, 2025
Why is Moldova is so important to Russia and Europe?
Since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova — a country of 3 million people —— has sought its own path in Europe. But Russia would prefer keeping Moldova within its own sphere of influence.
https://p.dw.com/p/51BEv
Skip next section WATCH — Moldova’s Gagauzia at a crossroads between East and West09/28/2025September 28, 2025
WATCH — Moldova’s Gagauzia at a crossroads between East and West
Ahead of the parliamentary election on September 28, DW asked some locals in how they see their future.
In the early 1990s, made a push for independence, which ended when the Moldovan government granted it extensive autonomy in 1994.
Unlike the rest of Moldova, where Romanian is the main language, many people here speak Russian and consume Russian-language media — giving them strong cultural ties to Moscow.
https://p.dw.com/p/51BEw
Skip next section Polls open in Moldova
09/28/2025September 28, 2025
Polls open in Moldova
Polls have opened at voting stations around Moldova. Voting is scheduled to finish at 9 p.m. local time (0600 GMT/UTC).
https://p.dw.com/p/51BFC
Skip next section Two pro-Russian parties banned ahead of Moldova’s election
09/28/2025September 28, 2025
Two pro-Russian parties banned ahead of Moldova’s election
Moldova’s Central Electoral Commission excluded the pro-Russia party Greater Moldova (Moldova Mare) from participating in Sunday’s parliamentary vote.
The commission said that the Greater Moldova party was excluded following findings that the party was using illegal financing and foreign funding.
Greater Moldova leader Victoria Furtuna said she would appeal the biased decision, the Moldpress media outlet reported.
The decision was made late on Friday. It is the second pro-Russian party to be disqualified amid concerns over alleged Russian interference.
Earlier on Friday, , which was part of the Russia-friendly Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP) — one of the main opponents of the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS).
https://p.dw.com/p/51BEr
Skip next section Moldovan president warns of Russian interference to sway election
09/28/2025September 28, 2025
Moldovan president warns of Russian interference to sway election
Ahead of Sunday’s vote, Moldova’s pro-EU President warned of heavy Russian interference.
In an interview released on Saturday, Sandu told German public broadcaster ZDF that the country’s territorial “integrity and independence” are at stake.
According to Sandu, Moscow is exerting enormous pressure to influence the vote, spending “hundreds of millions of euros” to finance political parties, bribe voters and train young people for destabilizing activities.
Polls indicate that Sandu’s pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) is likely to remain the strongest force, though the party may lose the majority it has held since 2021. Pro-Russian parties are also projected to perform well.
Sandu noted that Chisinau is on . “We have made great progress in the past three years. I truly believe that the Republic of Moldova can be an EU member by the end of the decade,” she told ZDF.
She said she would “continue fighting for democracy” even if the pro-EU camp loses Sunday’s election.
https://p.dw.com/p/51BEq
Skip next section WATCH — Fact check: How fake news threatens Moldova’s election09/28/2025September 28, 2025
WATCH — Fact check: How fake news threatens Moldova’s election
As voters in Moldova head to the polls, disinformation and propaganda campaigns are surging online, threatening and testing the strength of its democracy. Meanwhile, Russian officials are already throwing shade, calling Moldova’s democracy ”rock bottom.”
Fake news, twisted anti-EU narratives and online propaganda — .
So, let’s break down the following 3 false narratives you’ll see popping up:
1. Is Moldova suppressing the opposition?
2. False narratives about the EU in Moldova
3. Is NATO dragging Moldova into war?
https://p.dw.com/p/51BEu
The post Moldova election: Pro-EU party ahead as vote count underway appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
