Moldova votes for Europe: Sandu’s victory and its impact

The author of the Resurgam Telegram channel discussed the results.

With 99% of votes counted, Maia Sandu’s PAS party has 50.16%, securing a single-party majority with 54–55 MPs. This strong result was unexpected given the starting ratings, ruling-party challenges, and Kremlin interference.

The author believes that Maia Sandu’s decisive actions, including the extradition of the “criminal of the century” — Vlad Plahotniuc, the Russian-born oligarch who orchestrated the withdrawal of over $1 billion from Moldova’s banking system, equivalent to about 12% of the country’s GDP in what became known as the “theft of the century” — may have had a hidden impact on the elections. A major factor was also election protection, including both preventive measures to safeguard results and the ban on pro-Moscow parties from participating.

The Resurgam channel highlights the significance of Moldova’s elections, pointing out several key outcomes:

• It shows that Kremlin interference can and must be resisted, even in seemingly vulnerable countries.
• Ukraine retains a stable neighbor and a secure southern logistical route through Romania and Moldova.
• The Kremlin’s operation since 2024 to surround Ukraine with “unfriendly governments” is failing, with upcoming Hungarian elections likely to further undermine the strategy.
• Kremlin operations are declining in effectiveness; despite resources spent, Moscow failed to mobilize pro-Russian voters in key regions, thanks to strong countermeasures by democratic intelligence agencies.

“The defeat in Moldova, considering the stakes, the level of Kremlin interference, and the focus of attention, is a significant reputational loss for Moscow,” the author concluded.

• After the parliamentary elections, Moldova’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has been publishing processed results from polling stations in real time. As of 09:50 a.m., aggregated data from 99.91% of protocols are already available.