Moldovan citizens voted strategically and confirmed the country's European direction, local media noted in a commentary on yesterday's parliamentary elections, in which the pro-European Action and Solidarity Party once again won a majority in parliament according to preliminary results, BTA reported.
The election results are a clear message to the political class: Moldovan citizens voted with the path to the EU in mind, expert Pavel Horia told TV8.
According to preliminary results announced on the website of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Moldova, with 99.91 percent of the protocols processed, the Action and Solidarity Party (ASP), founded by President Maia Sandu and in power for the past four years, received 50.16 percent of the votes in yesterday's parliamentary elections.
So far, two more coalitions and two parties.
Moldovan television TV8 reports that the PDS is expected to have fewer seats in parliament than in 2021, but will be able to form a government on its own. According to preliminary results, the PDS will have 55 seats in the 101-seat parliament, the pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc will have 26 seats, the “Alternative“ bloc - with eight seats, and Renato Usatui”s “Our Party“ and the “Democracy at Home” party will have six mandates each, the media outlet notes.
After the previous parliamentary elections, the pro-European PDS had 63 seats in parliament, TV8 recalls.
The Patriotic Bloc also lost seats compared to the previous elections, when the parties that make it up had a total of 32 mandates, local media outlets note.
The remaining parties, coalitions and independent candidates that participated in the elections did not receive enough votes to send representatives to parliament, where the threshold is 5 percent for parties, 7 percent for coalitions and 2 percent for independent candidates.
The Action and Solidarity Party was also preferred in the capital Chisinau, where one of the leaders of the “Alternative“ bloc, Ion Ceban, is the mayor, Moldovan media outlets note. Over 52 percent of voters in Chisinau supported the PDS, whose informal leader is President Maia Sandu. Mayor Ceban's "Alternative" bloc received only 14.5 percent in Chisinau.
Moldovan media also reported that voter turnout yesterday was 52.18 percent and recalled that in the presidential elections at the end of last year, the turnout was 54.34 percent in the second round, and in the parliamentary elections in 2021 - 52.3 percent.
The media also paid attention to the results in some regions of the country. In Transnistria - a separatist pro-Russian region that declared internationally unrecognized independence in 1992, the majority of people (51 percent) voted for the "Patriotic Bloc", which supports closer ties with Moscow. Russia maintains a contingent of about 1,500 soldiers in Transnistria. The PDS is in second place there with 29.89 percent, and the “Alternative“ bloc has collected 8.9 percent.
Over 600 Moldovan voters have voted in Ukraine, local media report. Voters in the two sections in Kiev and Odessa have chosen the PDS categorically - 78.76 percent. 9.48 percent of Moldovan voters in Ukraine have voted for the “Patriotic Bloc“, media in Chisinau report.
In the autonomous region of Gagauzia, the “Patriotic Bloc“ wins convincingly with 82.35 percent of the ballots cast there. The “Alternative“ bloc is in second place in Gagauzia, with 11.47 percent, and the Party of Action and Solidarity is in third place with 3.19 percent.
In Taraclia, the “Patriotic Bloc“ also won with 79.51 percent of the votes cast there. In second place is the “Alternative“ bloc with 10.5 percent, and the Party of Action and Solidarity received 6.1 percent in Taraclia.
The protocols from the polling stations will now be sent and processed through the centralized automatic system “Elections“, after which the polling stations have 48 hours to send them to the CEC, which will announce the final results, the media in Chisinau also reported.