Monday, 17 August 2026Europe · Analysis
Independent · Brussels & Berlin
Person
Former president and leader of the Patriotic Electoral Bloc, Patriotic Electoral Bloc
PAS secures 50.16% of the vote and 55 seats, defying pre-election polls that predicted a tight race, while diaspora voters deliver 17.5% of ballots amid bomb scares and alleged vote-buying operations.
President Maia Sandu's Party of Action and Solidarity secured 50.2% of the vote, but the opposition disputes the result and Moscow alleges voting restrictions for Moldovans in Russia.
Police say Moscow is spending more than $300 million, over three times last year's outlay, on vote-buying, disinformation and a foiled plot to train men for violent unrest before Sunday's parliamentary election.
With voting set for 28 September, Moldovan authorities detail vote-buying apps, AI disinformation and oligarch networks directed from Moscow as the Kremlin seeks to reverse the country's European trajectory.
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