Moldova’s ruling pro-European party was on track to win the most votes in a parliamentary election Sunday that was marred by allegations of widespread Russian meddling.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party was ahead with 45% of the votes, while the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc led by former President Igor Dodon was running second with 27.6%, according to partial counts from more than 80% of precincts. The Alternativa alliance founded by Chisinau Mayor Ion Ceban was third with 8.8%.
The result, if it holds, would leave Sandu’s party short of a majority it needs to keep the tiny nation of 2.4 million people wedged between Romania and Ukraine on the path toward European Union integration. But the count doesn’t include most of the votes cast by Moldova’s diaspora, which last year helped re-elect Sandu for a second term and swung a referendum in favor of enshrining the EU entry objective in the constitution.
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