The Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) won the elections in Moldova once again, doubling the votes of the pro-Russian alliance.

The pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) won Moldova's parliamentary elections on 28 September. Support hovered around 50 per cent, approximately double what the Patriotic Bloc — an alliance of pro-Russian parties — managed to obtain.

The vote was an important test for the country, which has been governed by the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) since 2021, a party to which president Maia Sandu also belongs; she has been in office since 2020 and was re-elected last November. In recent times it had seemed that the party had lost support amid a context of growing Russian influence, but the results of the parliamentary elections confirm the strength of the pro-European wind.

Moldova's parliamentary elections of 28 September were considered crucial. For five years now the country has been led by the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS). In 2020 the presidential elections were won by its leader Maia Sandu, who was then re-confirmed in November 2024. The same story unfolded in the 2021 parliamentary elections, in which the party secured a majority and was able to form a government.

In recent years the country, home to approximately 2.4 million people and housing within its borders the self-proclaimed pro-Russian republic of Transnistria, has distanced itself profoundly from Moscow. On one hand it has reduced its dependence on the country, particularly in the energy sector; on the other, it has repeatedly denounced Russian interference in its internal affairs and the military aggression against Ukraine, also out of fears that the Kremlin's next target could be Moldova itself.

The elections of 28 September thus became a kind of referendum between the pro-European stance of the governing and presidential party and the pro-Russian position of the opposition, led in particular by the Patriotic Bloc alliance. In November 2024 a similar referendum had in fact already taken place, concerning the inclusion in the Constitution of Moldova's future accession to the European Union. On that occasion, the yes vote prevailed.

Polls in recent weeks had confirmed the lead of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), while also pointing to the possibility that it might not reach an absolute majority, losing support and room for manoeuvre compared to the results achieved in 2021. In the end, that is not how things went.

The pro-European party obtained over 50 per cent of the vote, against 24 per cent for the Patriotic Bloc, which had focused its electoral campaign on the risks of war with Russia should the pro-European government be confirmed, and on the high price of energy resulting from the severing of trade relations with Moscow.

Democratic and proEuropean choice wins in #Moldova election. The ruling PAS party is given a mandate to continue its reforms policy. #russia is seen as a big losser, but still having many followers and we can expect further destabilising operations to come pic.twitter.com/uRFbPtkNS5

President Maia Sandu's party secured more than half of the 101 parliamentary seats. The elections were turbulent, marked by cyber attacks on electoral systems, bomb alerts at polling stations, attempts by pro-Russian opposition groups to ratchet up tensions, and arrests. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, congratulated Moldova following the election results, underlining that the doors of the European Union for the country "are open".