MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Early results in Moldova's parliamentary elections are in, with the former Soviet republic rejecting a path that would have returned it to Russia's orbit. 91ÖÆƬ³§'s Charles Maynes reports from Moscow.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: It appears Moldovan President Maia Sandu now has the political capital to advance her country's bid for European Union membership. That alone is a major setback for Moscow, argues Oana Popescu-Zamfir of GlobalFocus Center, an independent think tank.
OANA POPESCU-ZAMFIR: It would really be a very powerful symbol if such a small, poor, resource-stripped country with so many vulnerabilities to Russia did manage after all to craft its own future.
MAYNES: Sandu's ruling Party of Action and Solidarity outperformed polls and will hold its majority in Parliament and move forward with reforms to join the EU bloc by 2030.
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MAYNES: Casting her ballot in Moldova's capital, Chisinau, Sandu said the fate of the country was in voters' hands.
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PRESIDENT MAIA SANDU: If Moldovans will not mobilize enough and if Russia's interference will impact significantly our elections, then Moldova might lose everything it has.
MAYNES: In the run-up to the vote, Sandu accused Russia of trying to sway the election with money, disinformation and fear.
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SANDU: Russia has unleashed its full arsenal of hybrid attacks against us.
MAYNES: Russia has denied those charges, accusing Sandu of stoking anti-Russian sentiment to distract from voters' dissatisfaction in one of Europe's poorest countries. Moldova's election commission barred two pro-Russian parties from the ballot just days before the vote.
(CHEERING)
MAYNES: Yet outside Moldova's embassy in Moscow on Sunday afternoon, the atmosphere - a celebration. The pro-Russian Patriotic party had claimed victory well before polls closed.
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DMITRY PESKOV: (Speaking Russian).
MAYNES: This morning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also accused Sandu's government of disenfranchising Russia's sizeable Moldovan diaspora in Russia by limiting access to polling stations.
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UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Chanting in non-English language).
MAYNES: Moldova's pro-Russian opposition said it would challenge the outcome of the vote in court, with hundreds of supporters gathering in Chisinau
Charles Maynes, 91ÖÆƬ³§ News, Moscow. Transcript provided by 91ÖÆƬ³§, Copyright 91ÖÆƬ³§.
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