Moldova's ruling pro-EU party has pulled comfortably ahead of its Russian-leaning rival in a crucial parliamentary election as final results trickle in, a relief for the government as it seeks to keep the country out of Moscow's orbit.
With around 93 per cent of votes counted, the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) had 47 per cent versus 27 per cent for the Patriotic Bloc, which opposes closer ties with Brussels.
While still short of a majority in the 101-seat chamber, the preliminary count gets PAS closer to the threshold than many political analysts had expected and could make coalition-building less fraught than feared.
And with more ballots to come in from overseas voters, who tend to favour integration with Europe, it remains possible PAS will get over 50 per cent in the final tally.
Holding on to its parliamentary majority would allow the party to keep Moldova's EU bid on track, a process requiring years of concerted legislative efforts.
"Statistically speaking PAS has guaranteed a fragile majority," analyst Andrei Curararu of the Moldovan-based think tank WatchDog.md told Agence France-Presse.
But he warned that "the danger is not surpassed, as a functional government is difficult to form.
"The Kremlin has bankrolled too big of an operation to stand down and could resort to protests, bribing PAS MPs and other tactics to disrupt forming a stable pro-European government."
An acrimonious buildup to key poll and protest call
The buildup to what PAS leaders have called the most consequential election in Moldova since independence was marred by accusations of foul play by both sides up to and on the day of polling.
President Maia Sandu's government warned Moldovans that Russia had sought to sway the vote through widespread disinformation and vote-buying.
Stanislav Secrieru, Sandu's national security adviser, said election infrastructure and government websites had come under cyber attack, and that fake bomb threats were called into polling stations in Moldova and abroad.
Moscow has denied meddling in Moldova.
On Sunday, Patriotic Bloc co-leader Igor Dodon, a former Moldovan president, called for protests in front of parliament on Monday, claiming that Sandu was planning to annul the vote. He did not provide evidence.
Authorities will watch closely to see if Dodon follows through on the threat, and what crowds he can command if he does.
In the days leading up to the vote, election officials barred two pro-Russian parties from the ballot amid allegations of illegal financing.
Pulled east and west
The small European Union candidate nation, which borders Ukraine and has a pro-Russia breakaway region, has long been divided over whether to move closer with Brussels or maintain Soviet-era relations with Moscow.
Opposition groups like the Patriotic Bloc had sought to tap into voter anger over economic pain and the slow pace of reforms — grievances worsened by what officials say has been widespread disinformation.
Moldovan authorities claim the Kremlin is pouring hundreds of millions of euros to buy hundreds of thousands of votes. Source: AFP / Daniel Mihailescu
Voters in the country of 2.4 million people — one of Europe's poorest — have expressed frustration over economic hardship, as well as scepticism over the drive to join the EU.
"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 the capital Chișinău.
