Moldovans vote in a tense election plagued by Russian interference claims

CHISINAU Moldova AP Moldovans on Sunday cast ballots in a tense parliamentary referendum plagued by proposes of Russian interference a vote seen as a choice between integration with the European Union or a drift back into Moscow s fold Sunday s pivotal vote will elect a new -seat parliament after which Moldova s president nominates a prime minister generally from the leading party or bloc which can then try to form a new ruling body A proposed ruling body then demands parliamentary approval Polls opened at a m and close at p m The Central Electoral Commission informed that people or about of eligible voters had cast ballots by p m Pro-Western and pro-Russian parties slug it out The race pits the governing pro-Western Party of Action and Solidarity or PAS which has held a strong parliamentary majority since but risks losing it against several Russia-friendly opponents but no viable pro-European partners leaving uncertainty over foreseen outcomes and the geopolitical lesson the country will take After casting her ballot Moldova s pro-Western President Maia Sandu reiterated long-held insists that Russia massively interfered in the referendum saying she voted to keep the peace and that her country s future lies within the EU Russia poses a danger to our democracies Our democracy is young and fragile but that does not mean that states with longer democracies are not in danger We want to live in a democracy she commented In the current era in our country democracy is in the hands of Moldovans only they can save the Republic of Moldova Moldova is landlocked between Ukraine and European Union member Romania The country of about million people has spent newest years on a westward path and gained candidate status to the EU in shortly after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine Fears of Russian interference Days before Sunday s vote Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean warned that Russia is spending hundreds of millions of euros as part of an alleged hybrid war to try to seize power which he described as the final battle for our country s future I call on every Moldovan at home and across Europe We cannot change what Russia does but we can change what we do as a people he mentioned Turn worry into mobilization and thoughtful action Help stop their schemes The alleged Russian strategies include a large-scale vote-buying operation cyberattacks on critical regime infrastructure a plan to incite mass riots around the voting process and a sprawling disinformation campaign online to diminish patronage for the pro-European ruling party and sway voters toward Moscow-friendly ones Russia has repeatedly denied meddling in Moldova and dismissed the charges last week as anti-Russian and unsubstantiated Agents have warned that Moldova s voting process day could be targeted by false bomb threats cyberattacks temporary power outages and street violence by trained individuals In a crackdown before the vote law enforcement officers have carried out hundreds of raids in which scores have been detained Moldova s Information Apparatus and Cyber Prevention Facility disclosed cyberattacks on Saturday and Sunday had targeted electoral infrastructure and cabinet cloud services All attacks were detected and neutralized in real time without affecting the electoral process it stated The importance of diaspora voters Moldova s large diaspora is expected to play a decisive role in Sunday s outcome In last year s presidential runoff which was also viewed as a choice between East and West a record number of voters cast ballots abroad more than of whom favored Sandu and ultimately secured her reelection A key opponent of PAS in Sunday s referendum is the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc a group of political parties that wants friendship with Russia and permanent neutrality Others include the populist Our Party which wants balanced foreign initiative between East and West and the Alternativa Bloc which indicates to be pro-European but critics say would seek closer ties to Moscow Igor Dodon a former president and a member of the Patriotic Electoral Bloc declared Sunday s vote is the day when the people are not afraid but others are afraid of the people We go out and vote We choose a country where people s fear will disappear he declared We choose a normal life for citizens we believe in Moldova Voter concerns may have diminished pro-EU camp In latest years as the country has lurched from problem to problem Moldovans have faced rampant inflation instability from the war next door increasing costs of living and high poverty rates which may have diminished sponsorship for the pro-European ruling party which Sandu founded in The greater part local polls indicate that PAS will win the the bulk votes but they don t include Moldova s large diaspora and about a third of voters remain undecided In the parliamentary poll turnout was just over Igor Mihailov a -year-old trainee from Chisinau didn t want to say who he voted for but described Moldovan society as very divided because of propaganda from both sides For me personally and for other people in our country it s a very tough choice he commented The main priority for me is for our administration to be for us not for their own interests to be for the people For -year-old economist Cristian Iftodi it is a stark choice strictly between the West and Russia I was born after the independence of Moldova I think it s the majority of fundamental poll in the history of Moldova he disclosed I truly believe that Moldova although it s a very small country plays a really essential role for the EU Because I think the EU can be more united if they win this battle against Russia Iulian Groza executive director of the Institute for European Policies and Reforms think tank says the higher the turnout the more likely it is that PAS can secure a majority Any party in establishment has a tendency to erode in community help and in the last four years Moldova has experienced multiple crises he explained After four years despite various crises we had I think we can say very clearly that Moldova resisted in the face of this Russian aggression Source