Moldovan PM accuses Russia of using election to 'take power' ahead of Sunday vote

Moldova’s prime minister said Russia is spending hundreds of millions of euros to take power in a pivotal parliamentary election, as Moldovans prepare to vote Sunday for a 101-seat legislature that could determine the country’s course toward the European Union.

Prime Minister Dorin Recean, speaking after a government session, framed the vote as a contest between Moscow’s ambitions and Moldova’s pro-European trajectory. “The Republic of Moldova is in an electoral campaign. The Russian Federation is also in an electoral campaign,” he said. “It’s just that we are campaigning in our country, and the Russian Federation wants to campaign not in its own country, but in our country.” He warned that Moscow’s objective is to “take power in Chisinau, violating the sovereign will” of Moldovan voters and described the election as more than a political battle, calling it a siege on the country. He outlined what he described as several Kremlin strategies, including a large-scale vote-buying scheme, more than 1,000 cyberattacks on critical government infrastructure this year, plans to incite riots around election day, and a broad online disinformation campaign aimed at swaying voters in the direction of pro-Russian forces.

Moldova’s westward tilt has deep roots since independence in 1991, and the country’s posture intensified after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Moldova applied for EU membership and was granted candidate status in 2022, with the bloc opening accession negotiations last year. Brussels has since repeatedly linked Moldova’s security and reform efforts to its EU path, while Moscow has criticized the country’s pivot and warned against Western influence.

Recean cited alleged Kremlin interference as a defining factor in the election environment. He noted that Moscow has long denied meddling in Moldova’s affairs, but said there is “evidence, including wiretaps, that proves that vote buying is financed by the Russian Federation.” He added that the instrument in this alleged effort is the Shor criminal group, linked to fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, who was convicted in 2023 of fraud and money laundering in a case tied to a $1 billion banking scandal in 2014. “The beneficiaries are several electoral competitors,” he said, asserting that foreign money and organization are meant to tilt the result toward Russia-friendly forces.

Ahead of the vote, Moldovan authorities have conducted hundreds of searches and detained dozens of people as they pursue investigations into alleged Moscow-backed efforts to destabilize the country. In one recent update, authorities said that 74 people were detained during about 250 raids in a nationwide investigation into plans to incite mass riots, with at least one arrest linked to financing a political party accused of maintaining links to Russia through cryptocurrencies. Recean said the gathered evidence underscores Moscow’s intent to undermine Moldova’s sovereignty, but he reassured the public that the state would resist and, when necessary, retaliate against what he called an “occupation plan.”

“The increasing evidence of Russia’s subversive actions is increasing concern in society,” he said. “I assure you of one thing: the state of the Republic of Moldova is resisting.” He urged citizens to participate in the vote with “an honest vote,” framing turnout as a final defense of Moldova’s independence and its European future.

At the same time, a rally organized by the Russia-friendly Patriotic Electoral Bloc, or BEP, took place in central Chisinau. Dozens chanted anti-PAS slogans and criticized President Maia Sandu. The BEP, a coalition of parties campaigning on pledges to preserve sovereignty while maintaining normal relations with both the European Union and Russia, billed the event as a peace rally. A BEP candidate said neutrality would safeguard security, while Grigore Novac, a deputy with the Party of Socialists, argued that no foreign power should intervene in Moldova’s electoral process. He contrasted Moldova’s experience with European institutions, which he claimed had intervened, and suggested this proved foreign interference.

The election is being watched as a crossroad for Moldova’s future orientation. The pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity, which won a clear majority in 2021, faces a tough test as it competes against BEP and other pro-Russian or neutral-leaning groups that emphasize sovereignty and pragmatic ties with both Brussels and Moscow. While Western partners have urged reforms and anti-corruption efforts as prerequisites for deeper EU integration, Moscow has sought to preserve influence in a neighboring country that sits at a strategic crossroads in Eastern Europe.

The broader context remains tense. Earlier this week, leaders from France, Germany and Poland visited Moldova to mark the country’s 34 years of independence from the Soviet Union, signaling support for Moldova’s sovereignty and reform agenda ahead of the vote. The outcome could influence Moldova’s reform momentum, energy security, and its prospects for accelerated integration with European institutions, as well as the depth of regional tensions tied to the war in Ukraine and Russia’s multipronged approach to influence neighboring states.