Overview
- Voters go to the polls on Sunday, 28 September, in elections widely framed as a choice between deeper EU integration and a return to Russia’s orbit.
- President Maia Sandu’s PAS still leads most surveys but has lost ground during economic strain, while the pro‑Russian Bloc Patriotic positions itself as the main challenger.
- Moldovan authorities accuse the Kremlin of unprecedented interference, alleging hundreds of millions of euros in spending to buy votes and to provoke unrest.
- Investigators flag active disinformation and deepfake operations, including campaigns dubbed Operation Overload and Matriochka, that target trust in the electoral process.
- Attention centers on Transnistria and the diaspora vote, with 12 special polling stations set up near the breakaway region for roughly 30,000 expected participants and reports of a continued Russian military presence there.