Skip next section Ruling PAS wins pivotal parliamentary election
09/29/2025September 29, 2025
Ruling PAS wins pivotal parliamentary election
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.
https://p.dw.com/p/51Cat
Skip next section PAS maintains lead with more than 90% of the votes counted
09/28/2025September 28, 2025
PAS maintains lead with more than 90% of the votes counted
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.
https://p.dw.com/p/51CZj
Skip next section Optimism at PAS headquarters as pro-EU party takes lead09/28/2025September 28, 2025
Optimism at PAS headquarters as pro-EU party takes lead
We’re back in Chisinau at the election night headquarters of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), on a staunchly pro-EU and pro-Western ticket.
Every now and then, we hear cheers from a room full of party members upstairs. For now, they have good reason to be optimistic: Early results show the party is out in front in the polls, with the pro-Russian opposition in second.
Pre-election polls showed PAS was projected to lose its majority and the final outcome of the vote is still far from clear.
PAS may find itself in need of coalition partners — something which could complicate the reform process needed for Moldova .
The pro-Russian opposition has already called for protests on Monday.
There is a heavy police presence on the streets of Chisinau, with law enforcement announcing they detained several people late on Sunday over suspected plans to stir up unrest.
https://p.dw.com/p/51CZd
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
The post Moldova election: Pro-EU party takes decisive lead appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
