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Moldova’s pro-European party led by President Maia Sandu claimed a clear lead and a new majority in parliamentary elections on Sunday seen as pivotal for the country’s future in the European Union. <\/p>\n
With 95% of polling stations counted, the Party of Action and Solidarity led with 48% of the vote. <\/p>\n
The pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc has 25.6%, while the Russia-friendly Alternativa Bloc stood at 8.3% and the populist Our Party \u2014 which wants \u201cbalanced foreign policy\u201d between East and West \u2014 has 6.3%. The right-wing Democracy at Home party has 5.7%.<\/p>\n
The pivotal vote is set to elect a new 101-seat parliament, after which Moldova’s president will nominate a new prime minister. A proposed government needs parliamentary approval. <\/p>\n
One pro-Russian opposition leader, Igor Dodon, called on his supporters to attend a rally outside Moldova’s parliament building to consolidate victory before results started coming in. <\/p>\n
Eventually, it became clear that Sandu’s party stood to hold a majority of legislative seats. <\/p>\n
Moldova’s large diaspora looked likely to play a decisive role in the final outcome. <\/p>\n
In last year\u2019s presidential runoff \u2014 which was also viewed as a choice between East and West \u2014 a record number of 327,000 voters cast ballots abroad, more than 82% of whom favoured Sandu.<\/p>\n
After casting her ballot on Sunday, Sandu reiterated long-held claims that Russia \u201cmassively interfered\u201d in the election, saying she voted \u201cto keep the peace\u201d and insisted her country\u2019s future lies within the EU.<\/p>\n
Bomb scares<\/p>\n
In a sign of how tense the vote had become, Moldovans face multiple allegations of irregularities as they cast their ballots. <\/p>\n
Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said bomb threats had targeted polling stations in Romania, Spain, Italy and the US. <\/p>\n
Police detained three people suspected of being from the security services in Moldova\u2019s pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria, who were allegedly planning to cause \u201cmass destabilisations and disorder.”<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are alleged leaders responsible for coordinating, monitoring and logistically supplying the groups,\u201d police said, adding that they found pyrotechnics and flammable materials the suspects intended on using to cause panic and chaos.<\/p>\n
Sandu said in a Facebook address as the vote was underway that the authorities also had multiple reports of voters being illegally transported to polling stations abroad, \u201cobviously in exchange for money,\u201d and cases of blank ballots being removed from polling stations so they could later \u201cbe reintroduced already stamped.\u201d<\/p>\n
Igor Grosu, the leader of Party of Action and Solidarity, said after polls closed that \u201cRussia\u2019s attempts to hijack the electoral process have been huge\u201d and that state institutions made efforts to ensure the security and integrity of the voting.<\/p>\n
Russia has repeatedly denied meddling in Moldova and dismissed the allegations last week as \u201cunsubstantiated.\u201d Dodon, whilst casting his vote, dismissed claims of “massive interference.”<\/p>\n