Blow for Putin as Russia-leaning party struggles in Moldova election

Moldova's pro-EU party seems to have secured a strong win against its Russia-leaning rival in what has been described as the most consequential election since the country's independence.

With more than 99% of votes counted, Moldova's ruling party, the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), had a share of 49.99%, versus 24.28% for the Patriotic Bloc, which opposes closer ties with Brussels. Holding a majority in the 101-seat chamber would allow PAS to keep pushing for its goal of joining the EU.

If it falls short, it will have to try to form a coalition with smaller parties. The Patriotic Bloc aims to win power and steer the nation - a former Soviet republic - away from closer ties with Brussels and the EU.

Moldova's pro-Western president Maia Sandu, who wants the country to join the EU by 2030, reiterated long-held claims that Russia has interfered with elections. After casting her ballot, she said: "Russia poses a danger to our democracies.

Our democracy is young and fragile, but that does not mean that states with longer democracies are not in danger. "We want to live in a democracy." In the build up to the election, Prime Minister Dorin Recean warned that Russia was spending "hundreds of millions" of euros as part of an alleged hybrid war to try to seize power, which he described as "the final battle for our country's future".

PAS leaders, including the party's leader Igor Grosu, have called vote the most consequential in Moldova since independence. Moscow has always denied meddling and says the government is spreading anti-Russian hysteria to win votes.

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French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the apparent results of the elections as he said on X: "Despite attempts at interference and pressure, the choice of Moldovan citizens has been strongly affirmed. "France stands alongside Moldova in its European project and its drive for freedom and sovereignty." EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: "Moldova, you've done it again." Why would Russia want to interfere? Moldova is landlocked between Ukraine and Romania.

The country of about 2.5 million people has spent recent years on a Westward path and gained candidate status to the EU in 2022, shortly after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. If Moldova becomes a permanent EU member, it would mean a distancing from Moscow, as the EU has offered support to Ukraine and has put various sanctions in place against Russia.

However, candidate status does not guarantee a country membership to the EU. In order for a country to become a full member, candidates must adopt democratic norms and undertake reforms to meet EU rules, regulations and standards.

All EU governments then have to agree before that country can be admitted as an EU member..