Pro-EU party in Moldova wins clear majority in election

A pro-reform party seeking closer ties for Moldova with the European Union has won a clear majority in Sunday’s snap parliamentary elections, electoral commission results show

CHISINAU, Moldova -- A pro-reform party seeking closer ties for Moldova with the European Union has won a clear majority in the parliamentary election, electoral commission results show Monday. Sunday’s election was called by President Maia Sandu, who sought to gain a parliament made up of pro-EU reformists in the former Soviet republic. The Party of Action and Solidarity, or PAS, took almost 53% of all votes, compared to the electoral bloc of Communists and Socialists, which took 27%. Only one other party passed the threshold to gain seats in Moldova’s 101-seat legislature. Voter turnout in the nation of 3.5 million people — Europe’s poorest country, landlocked between Ukraine and Romania — was just over 48%.