Moldovans go to vote in tense polls

Nation torn between ties with EU, Russia

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Moldovan President Maia Sandu speaks after voting at a polling station during the country's parliamentary elections in Chisinau, Moldova, yesterday.

(REUTERS)

Moldovans were voting yesterday in parliamentary elections that could see the country neighbouring Ukraine swerve from its pro-European path towards Moscow, with the government and the EU accusing Russia of “deeply interfering”.

Moldova, a European Union candidate country, has long been divided over closer ties with Brussels or maintaining Soviet-era relations with Moscow.

Most surveys ahead of the vote showed the pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), in power since 2021, in the lead. But analysts say the race is far from certain.

"I want higher wages and pensions... I want things to continue as they were during the Russian times," Vasile, a 51-year-old locksmith and welder, who only gave his first name, told AFP at a polling station in Chisinau.

Another voter, Paulina Bojoga, 68, said she wanted Moldova "to catch up with European countries because Europe has everything we need".