Moldova targets vote-buying ahead of key elections for Its European future

Moldovan authorities carried out a large-scale operation on 15 September, conducting around 30 searches in connection with a case of illegal party financing, money laundering, and voter bribery ahead of the 28 September parliamentary elections.

The investigations, coordinated by the National Anti-Corruption Center (NACC) together with prosecutors from the third largest city Bălți, covered homes, offices and cars across the country.

According to investigators, individuals connected to a political party, its members and supporters had organised a scheme to bribe voters in advance of the elections. Law enforcement officers reported suspicious financial transactions involving both foreign and virtual currencies, though the total amount has not been disclosed. Ten people were detained for 72 hours, while significant sums of money in various currencies, along with electronic devices, drafts and other evidence of voter recruitment, were seized.

Footage released by the National Security Council indicated links to parties associated with fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, showing discussions about hiring people to buy votes. Moldova’s Ministry of Internal Affairs underlined that since the start of the election period, law enforcement has carried out about 2,000 searches nationwide, opening several criminal cases, including those tied to the organisation of paid protests. Dozens of individuals have already been detained.

The parliamentary elections scheduled for 28 September are set to be a turning point for Moldova’s pro-European trajectory. Yet they are also taking place against a backdrop of intensifying Russian hybrid attacks, ranging from disinformation and cyber operations to manipulation of public opinion. President Maia Sandu, speaking before the European Parliament in Strasbourg earlier this month, framed the country’s European path not only as a matter of values but as one of survival.

“The Kremlin has used its entire arsenal of hybrid attacks against us,” Sandu warned, stressing that Moldova faces “an unrestricted hybrid war on a scale not seen before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.” She accused Moscow of seeking to “seize Moldova through the ballot box, use it against Ukraine, and turn it into a launching pad for hybrid attacks on the European Union.”

Moldova applied to join the EU in 2022 and has since pursued reforms in governance, the judiciary and the economy. Still, Sandu has argued that the EU should not expect “perfection” before allowing the country to move forward with accession. “We are not asking for a shortcut. We are diligently doing our job,” she said, while underlining that Moldova is in a “race against time” to protect its democracy from Russia’s destabilising influence.

In comments to the “Financial Times”, Sandu warned that Russia had expanded its interference beyond Moldova’s borders, targeting the diaspora that played a decisive role in her re-election and in securing support for EU membership. “The Russians have targeted the diaspora,” Sandu said, adding that Moscow had stepped up its online disinformation campaigns. She accused Russia of deploying Orthodox priests to spread propaganda and using a “Matryoshka” network of bots to disguise fake content as legitimate foreign media.

Moldova’s president warns of ‘unprecedented’ Russian interference ahead of election

Sandu also alleged that Russia spent the equivalent of one percent of Moldova’s GDP to interfere in the 2024 elections and is now innovating its tactics further. According to her, Moscow is financing criminal groups to provoke riots in Moldovan prisons, in addition to backing paid protests in the streets. “Russia is using a really wide range of tools in an attempt to overcome our institutions,” she stressed.

The president insisted that EU integration remains the only viable path to safeguard Moldovan democracy under such pressure. “We believe that the EU must find a solution so that both Moldova and Ukraine can move on to the next stages,” she said, calling the upcoming parliamentary elections the final obstacle before Moldova can progress towards EU membership.

Meanwhile, Moldova’s Central Election Commission has barred the “Victory” bloc from participating in the elections, excluding three of its parties from the official list. “Victory” of “Victorie” is a pro-Russian political bloc in Moldova, established by the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor and his allied parties in Moscow, Russia, on 21 April 2024.

Polling ahead of the vote has revealed a tight race. An iData survey published on 8 September suggested Sandu’s party was supported by fewer than 25% of respondents, while former president Igor Dodon’s pro-Russian “Patriotic Bloc” led the field. By contrast, an International Republican Institute poll released on 12 September showed nearly 40% support for the incumbent president’s party. The discrepancy underscores the uncertainty surrounding voter sentiment and the potential impact of disinformation campaigns in shaping perceptions before election day.

The 28 September parliamentary elections will therefore serve as both a domestic test of Moldova’s democratic resilience and a broader indicator of Russia’s reach in Europe’s eastern neighbourhood.