Moldova to hold vote pitting reformists against pro-Russians

Moldovan voters go to the polls Sunday in a snap parliamentary election that could decide whether the former Soviet republic fully embraces pro-Western reforms or prolongs a political impasse under strong Russian influence

BUCHAREST -- Moldovan voters go to the polls this weekend in a snap parliamentary election that could decide whether the former Soviet republic fully embraces pro-Western reforms or prolongs a political impasse under strong Russian influence. The landlocked country of 3.5 million — Europe's poorest, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine — has in recent years lurched from one political crisis to another, dogged by instability and stuck in geopolitical limbo between pro-Western and pro-Russia forces. Although Moldova signed a deal with the European Union in 2014 on forging closer political and economic ties, rampant corruption and lack of reform have hindered development and at times drawn strong criticism from Brussels. Analysts say Sunday's election could prove decisive for the future of the country, which gained independence in 1992 but has seen widespread disillusionment with post-Soviet politics, and an exodus of hundreds of thousands of citizens seeking a better future abroad.