Overview

• Polling closed at 21:00 local time with early tallies showing a neck‑and‑neck race between Maia Sandu’s pro‑EU PAS and Igor Dodon’s pro‑Russian Bloc Patriotic, and turnout reached a reported 51.9%.
• Prime Minister Dorin Recean said coordinated attacks targeted the Central Election Commission portal and overseas precincts and that a massive hit forced a block on host.md, leaving about 4,000 sites offline without disrupting voting.
• Police reported 74 arrests of people suspected of being hired to provoke unrest, while observers noted suspicious voter movements at special precincts for Transnistria and authorities logged false bomb alerts in Moldova and abroad.
• A Reuters investigation reported Moscow‑linked recruitment and financing of Moldovan Orthodox priests, including sponsored trips and vouchers, to amplify anti‑EU messaging ahead of the vote.
• Russian outlets and the foreign intelligence service promoted claims of a planned operation against Transnistria, a region where roughly 1,500 Russian troops remain, and Russian politician Sergey Mironov warned against a NATO‑aligned Moldova as Dodon urged supporters to rally on Monday.