CHISINAU -- Moldovans began voting in key parliamentary elections facing a choice of two paths: continuing toward joining the European Union or veering toward Russia amid widespread reports of campaign meddling by the Kremlin.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. local time on September 28 in an impoverished country with a front row seat to Russia's war in neighboring Ukraine. Polls close at 9 p.m. with results expected to flow in soon afterward.
The conflict, Europe's largest and deadliest since World War II, has hit Moldova's economy hard, disrupting trade and driving up energy prices to trigger a spike in inflation.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin's online army of disinformation bots has used fake accounts and networks, often AI-generated, to flood social media with pro-Russian narratives and unsubstantiated claims of fraud.
Aunties With Flowers: The Kremlin's Online Army Of Disinformation Bots
Ahead of the elections in Moldova, fake accounts and bot networks, often AI-generated, are flooding social media with pro-Russian narratives and unsubstantiated claims of fraud.
Authorities have launched partnerships with platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram to counter the disinformation. But experts say the response has been slow.
TikTok says it has removed thousands of fake accounts, though critics remain skeptical.
In August, a local think tank identified a network of 910 social media accounts spreading Russian narratives. The network, it said, attacked the EU, Moldova’s European integration, and discredited pro-European leaders in Chisinau.
During the presidential elections last year, deepfakes primarily targeted pro-Western President Maia Sandu. This time around, digitally manipulated images or videos have featured ordinary people promoting pro-Kremlin candidates.
The strategy behind these fake accounts and bot networks is to exploit social media algorithms and audience biases, often using "credible" avatars such as pictures of women, aunties with flowers, or celebrity names.
TikTok has confirmed these patterns, reporting the removal of more than 4,500 pieces of content along with 100,000 fake accounts that violated rules on civic and electoral integrity, disinformation, or AI-generated content.
By Riin Aljas
"The Kremlin is trying to create such a tense situation in which it could manipulate public opinion or influence the results," Alexei Tulbure, the former Moldovan ambassador to the United Nations and the Council of Europe, told Current Time.
""Moldova is an important ally of Ukraine. It is an important logistics hub for Ukraine... Can you imagine if a hostile state appeared on the western Ukrainian border? It would weaken Kyiv's position.... Even if there were no direct attacks on Ukraine from there, Ukraine would still increase its military presence in the west to guarantee its security."
The contest pits President Maia Sandu's ruling Action and Solidarity party (PAS) against the Patriotic Electoral Bloc, an alliance of pro-Russian, Soviet-nostalgic parties.
The Socialists are led by Igor Dodon, a former Moldovan president -- Sandu defeated him in a 2020 presidential election -- who has long maintained close ties with Moscow. He has referred to the current democratically elected government as a "criminal regime."
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Moldova of "anti-Russian hysteria" and has denied it is interfering in what Sandu has called the "most consequential election" in her country's history.
Heightening tensions, Moldovan police and prosecutors on September 22 detained 74 people on suspicion of preparing mass unrest. The groups was reportedly trained in Serbia -- a key European ally of Russia -- in destabilization tactics.
Investigators say that between June and September groups of Moldovans aged 19-45 traveled to Serbia, where Russian instructors taught them how to break through police cordons, resist security forces, and use rubber batons, handcuffs, and even firearms.
Some reportedly entered Serbia under the guise of pilgrimages to Orthodox churches, only to be recruited for training in exchange for 400 euros ($470) per trip.
The days preceding the elections also marked the exclusion of two pro-Russian parties -- the Heart of Moldova and Moldova Mare (Greater Moldova) -- from participating in this weekend's vote.
Moldova's election authority imposed the restrictions following searches that led to allegations of voter bribery, illegal party financing, and money laundering.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told RFE/RL that Moldova's government should be lauded for being "resilient and capable of fighting back the forces that would like to see this country going away from the European path or to see the European Union fail.”
Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries, secured EU candidate status in 2022 and opened accession talks last year after firmly aligning itself with its neighbor, Ukraine, following Russia's unprovoked invasion in 2022, and joining the EU sanctions regime against Moscow.
The drive to accession has been complicated by several factors, including the Moscow-backed breakaway region of Transdniester that lies between Ukraine and Moldova's eastern border.
The territory, which lies on the eastern bank of the Dniester River, has Russian troops on its soil and has governed its own affairs -- with Moscow’s backing --- since a war that erupted as the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s.
