Reassured by the pro-European orientation of the result despite Russian interference, European leaders welcomed, on Monday 29 September, the outcome of the parliamentary elections held the previous day in Moldova.
Maia Sandu’s pro-European PAS party won 50.20% of the vote, thanks in particular to strong support from the diaspora, ahead of the Patriotic Bloc (24.18%). The turnout was 52.71%. According to the projections, PAS could retain its absolute majority in Parliament with 55 seats out of 101, compared with 63 previously.
“The people of Moldova have spoken and their message is loud and clear. They chose democracy, reform and a European future, in the face of pressure and interference from Russia”, rejoiced the President of the European Council, António Costa, on X. On the same social network, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the country had clearly made up its mind: “Europe. Democracy. Freedom”. “No attempt to sow fear or division could break your resolve”, she told the Moldovans.
“Democracy and the will of the Moldovan people have triumphed. Moldova has clearly chosen freedom, democracy and Europe. Despite all the Russian interference and the money spent on buying votes, intimidation and spreading lies, Russia has failed”, added European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier. He said that the EU looked forward to working with the new parliament and government and would continue to support Moldova’s strategic goal of EU membership. Moldova is waiting to open its first cluster of negotiation chapters.
On Monday, Moldovan President Maia Sandu described her party’s victory as “a strong mandate” for her country’s accession to the EU. “We have shown the whole world that we are courageous and dignified, that we have not allowed ourselves to be intimidated”, she added, at a time when the country has been subjected to major Russian interference, as was the case last year during the presidential election and the referendum on EU membership (see EUROPE 13508/1).
On the same day, the members of the Election Observation Mission team, in which the European Parliament participated, stressed that the elections had been “competitive” and had offered voters “a clear choice among political alternatives”. “But the process was marred by serious cases of foreign interference, illicit financing, cyber-attacks and widespread disinformation”, the mission added, without naming responsibility for these actions. The head of the European Parliament delegation on the mission, Michael Gahler (EPP, German), said that Russia had “interfered on an unprecedented scale” in the vote, condemning not only cyber-attacks, disinformation campaigns and illicit financing, but also intimidation and systems for sending and buying votes.
To see the mission’s press release: https://aeur.eu/f/inu (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)