East or West? Stark choice as Moldovans face key vote

Moldovans will head to the polls today for a parliamentary election fraught with claims of Russian interference.

- STEPHEN MCGRATH

The vote could decide the country’s geopolitical future: a stark choice between East and West. Landlocked between Ukraine and European Union member Romania, Moldova has pursued a westward path toward the EU in recent years, but today's ballot to elect a new 101-seat parliament will determine whether that continues or if the country of some 2.5 million people is pulled back into Moscow's orbit.

The race pits the ruling pro-Western Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), which has held a strong parliamentary majority since 2021, against several key Russia-friendly opponents.

The lack of viable pro-European partners has left a lot of uncertainty over potential outcomes in the pivotal ballot.

If PAS fails to win a majority, “it would mean an end to EU integration”, said Igor Grosu, the PAS leader and speaker of parliament. “It would mean dependence, halting all justice reforms, infrastructure projects, everything... there is no middle option.”

“All our efforts and messages are about mobilising to win a parliamentary majority,” he added.

Besides voter turnout, the outcome of today's high-stakes ballot might depend on how effective Moldovan authorities have been in their cat-and-mouse race to outwit Russia's alleged "hybrid war" – the aim of which they say is to derail the country's EU path.

Moldova's prime minister, Dorin Recean, warned that Russia is spending hundreds of millions of euros to try to "seize power in Chisinau" in a campaign he described as "increasingly radical".

The alleged schemes include a large-scale vote-buying operation, cyberattacks on critical government infrastructure, a plan to incite mass riots around the election, and a sprawling disinformation campaign online to sway voters.