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Defying years of alleged Russian attempts to sway its politics and derail its European ambitions, Moldova voted decisively for a pro-European path in parliamentary elections on Sunday, delivering a clear majority to the ruling Action and Solidarity Party.
“Moldova, you’ve done it again,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared in a message on X. “No attempt to sow fear or division could break your resolve. You made your choice clear: Europe. Democracy. Freedom. Our door is open. And we will stand with you every step of the way. The future is yours.”
According to preliminary results announced Monday by the Central Electoral Commission, the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), led by Igor Grosu, secured 55 of 101 seats in Parliament — enough for a governing majority. Much of its support came from Chișinău, the diaspora, and 24 districts, despite warnings of Russian interference and disinformation campaigns.
Five other political groups crossed the electoral threshold. The pro-Russian Bloc Patriotic (BP) claimed 26 seats, winning heavily in eight districts. Bloc Electoral “Alternativa” gained eight, while Partidul Nostru and Partidul “Democrația Acasă” each secured six.
“Moldova, I bow before you,” Grosu told supporters in the early hours of Monday, as ballots neared completion. “You have won battle after battle against enemies of the country who seemed impossible to defeat. Russia threw everything dirty it had: tons of money, lies, and illegalities. It used criminals to try to turn our country into a space of criminality.”
Investigative journalists from Ziarul de Gardă, CU CENS, and Rise Moldova — all members of the OCCRP network — have in recent months documented Moscow’s influence networks in Moldova, revealing how Moscow was recruiting activists to stage street protests, produce propaganda, and mobilize elderly voters against European integration. Money was funneled through cryptocurrency accounts and Russian banks, while sanctioned Russian foundations quietly financed local groups.
Reporters also traced training camps for Moldovan youths in Moscow, Serbia, and Republika Srpska, the Serb-controlled region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where recruits learned protest tactics, weapons handling, and drone use. Some later intimidated journalists and rallied for pro-Russian candidates, even as police opened criminal cases that yielded little restraint.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu has warned repeatedly of the Kremlin’s campaign to destabilize the country. Ahead of the vote, she told European lawmakers that Moscow had spent “hundreds of millions of euros” trying to sway voters. “The Kremlin’s goal is clear,” she said. “To capture Moldova through the ballot box.”
The elections were widely seen as pivotal for Moldova’s trajectory toward the European Union, where accession talks opened earlier this year. For Grosu, the result underscored what he called a democratic victory over foreign pressure.
“People who went to the polls knowing that this was a battle for the future,” he said. “We gave the most important lesson of democracy — that even an abuser like Russia can be defeated if you fight with the strongest thing a country has: its people.”
