Moldova, a tiny former soviet republic lying between Romania and Ukraine, is heading for a make-or-break election on Sunday. The elections are seen as an important moment by the EU and the West, while the opposition parties contend the script has been pre-written.
The elections are between the pro-EU Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) and the Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP), which is campaigning for Moldova’s constitutional neutrality.
Sandu, who was first elected in 2020 and re-elected in 2024 by a narrow margin, is facing allegations of electoral irregularities. Meanwhile, the opposition parties have insisted that decisive votes last year came from people living in European countries.
At the same time, Moscow accused Chisinau of disenfranchising citizens living in Russia, where only a handful of polling stations were opened compared with hundreds across Western Europe.
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Russia is alleging that pre-arrangements have been made between the EU and the pro-EU parties in the country. On Friday, the central election commission barred two more opposition parties, Greater Moldova and Heart of Moldova, alleging they took foreign funding.
The silencing of the parties continues, as the other opposition, the Victory Bloc, was deregistered earlier in 2025, and the SOR Party was dissolved by the Constitutional Court in June 2023.
The parliament has 101 seats, elected for a four-year term under a proportional system in a single nationwide constituency. To enter parliament, parties must pass a 5 per cent threshold, blocs 7 per cent, and independents 2 per cent. Seats are distributed according to the d’Hondt method.
The election will only be validated if at least one-third of registered voters take part.
The elections in Moldova are in the limelight due to the confrontations between Russia and the EU confrontations, where Russia wants to see the communist party ruling the country. While the EU wants to see a government with a more European tilt.
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