Moldova’s pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), aligned with President Maia Sandu, is set to retain control of parliament after securing just over half of the national vote in Sunday’s election, according to preliminary results published overnight.
With almost all ballots counted, PAS won about 50% of votes and is projected to take around 55 of the 101 seats, enough to govern without a coalition. The pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc, led by former president Igor Dodon, trailed on roughly 24–26%. Two smaller forces — Alternativa and Our Party — also cleared the threshold, according to initial tallies. Turnout was a little over 52%, higher than in recent contests.
President Sandu, 53, had framed the poll as decisive for Moldova’s trajectory towards EU accession, warning of what she described as “massive” attempts by Russia to influence the outcome. Election day and the count were marked by a series of security incidents and procedural disputes noted by authorities and observers, including bomb threats reported at several voting centres abroad and cyber incidents targeting government systems. Moldovan officials also reported arrests linked to suspected efforts to organise unrest around the vote.
Mr Dodon claimed victory immediately after polls closed, before results were released, and called for supporters of opposition parties to rally outside parliament on Monday. He has alleged irregularities and urged the government to resign. The Interior Ministry and election authorities said they would act to prevent disorder while the count and validation proceeded.
The result, if confirmed by final certification, gives PAS a renewed mandate to pursue the government’s programme of judicial reform, anti-corruption measures and closer alignment with the EU. Moldova, which borders Ukraine and Romania, received EU candidate status in 2022 and has set a working goal of advancing accession talks during the current parliament. The campaign was shaped by the spillover from Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine and by domestic concerns including prices and governance.
Authorities said the election environment was complicated by a disinformation campaign and alleged illicit financing channels tied to actors in Russia. In the days before the vote, anti-corruption investigators announced raids and a detention in an inquiry into suspected off-book funding routed via cryptocurrency. The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) also barred some parties from running shortly before election day, citing violations of financing rules; other Russia-leaning parties competed within Mr Dodon’s Patriotic Electoral Bloc after being formally registered earlier in the summer.
Participation from residents of Transnistria, the Moscow-backed separatist region along the border with Ukraine where Russian troops are present, was affected by late changes to some polling locations on security grounds. The CEC said several stations were relocated shortly before the vote after risk assessments by police and the security service.
Abroad, Moldovan officials and media reported bomb threats against a number of diaspora polling points, with local authorities in host countries declaring the alerts false after checks. The CEC said turnout thresholds were met and confirmed the validity of the election on Sunday evening, with the final aggregated results due after standard verification.
Preliminary distribution of seats indicates:
PAS: c.55 seats on ~50% of the vote
Patriotic Electoral Bloc: c.26 seats on ~24%
Alternativa: c.8 seats on ~8%
Our Party and Democracy at Home: small caucuses on c.6 seats each
Seat numbers may adjust marginally as the CEC completes tabulation and adjudicates any complaints.
Ms Sandu’s party first won an outright majority in 2021. A renewed single-party majority would allow PAS to form a government without partnering with Alternativa or other groups. The caretaker prime minister before the vote was Dorin Recean; the formation of a new cabinet depends on parliament’s composition and confirmations in the coming days.
Opposition leaders have signalled further protests and potential legal challenges. The government has appealed for calm while international observers finalise their assessments. For Brussels, a PAS majority would be read as a signal that Chișinău intends to keep EU-aligned reforms on track; for Moscow, it underscores the continuing contest for influence in a country of 2.6 million situated between the EU and a war zone.
Moldova’s ruling party frames election as a choice over Europe—and security
