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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