Chisinau, 16 September 2025 - Following an invitation from the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Moldova, the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) has deployed a Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM) to observe the Parliamentary Elections of September 28, 2025. The Mission is composed of six Core Team experts, based in Chisinau. No long- or short-term observers will be deployed.
Dritan Taulla, Head of Mission, noted: “The 2025 parliamentary elections in Moldova are being held amid high political stakes and deepening domestic divisions. Authorities have strengthened legal and institutional safeguards to protect electoral integrity; the effectiveness of these measures remains to be assessed. However, persistent disinformation, malign foreign influence, and illicit financing, combined with media fragility, pose ongoing risks to electoral integrity and democratic institutions.”
Nino Rizhamadze, Legal and Election Administration Analyst, underlined: “Following the 2024 elections, substantial amendments were made to the electoral legislation, the Law on Political Parties, and related laws, following consultations with state institutions, international organizations, and civil society. While adopting extensive reforms less than a year before an election may challenge legal certainty, ENEMO recognizes that the changes aimed to safeguard electoral integrity and protect the genuine will of voters from corrupt practices. Recent amendments aim to strengthen electoral integrity, though their impact remains to be assessed and will depend on consistent, impartial, and good-faith implementation.”
“The CEC is managing the electoral process efficiently and within deadlines. Sessions are open to observers and media, with decision-making generally characterized by collegiality and transparency. While technical decisions are largely unanimous, substantive issues often result in divided votes.” - added Rizhamadze.
Mariam Chubabria, Political Analyst, said: “The CEC received 32 registration applications, 25 from political parties and blocs and seven from independent candidates. Several parties were rejected during candidate registration for failing to meet legal requirements, with two CEC decisions overturned by courts. Ultimately 23 contestants were registered, 15 parties, four blocs and four independents. Legal amendments on registration of election contestants were adopted on 13 June and entered into force the following day, after which the CEC issued the corresponding regulation. The registration of contestants began on June 20. The short timeframe raised concerns regarding the principle of predictability.”
“The electoral campaign began on 29 August. Contestants are using door-to-door meetings, printed materials, company visits, media appearances, and social media outreach. Campaign messages focus on socio-economic issues, governance, foreign policy, judicial reform, anti-corruption, and public administration” – concluded Chubabria.
Daniel Kerekes, Political Analyst, observed: “The Electoral Code adopted in 2022 and the recent legislative amendments have established a stricter regulatory regime for campaign finance, aimed at enhancing transparency and curbing foreign interference and electoral corruption. In practice, the implementation has presented immediate hurdles for some contestants, who have also reported problems opening dedicated bank accounts.”
“Stakeholders allege that illicit foreign financing is influencing the campaign, including through vote-buying and online influencer networks. While law enforcement is actively investigating, concerns remain about its capacity to fully address these practices.” – continued Kerekes.
Maja Milikic, Media Analyst, noted: “Despite legal improvements aligning with European standards, Moldova’s media environment remains fragile, with online disinformation and foreign influence posing one of the greatest risks to the 2025 parliamentary elections. Traditional media continue to play a central role but are weakened by political influence, dependence on re-broadcasted foreign content and significant regional disparities.”
“The online sphere is the most vulnerable dimension of the information environment. Social networks, especially TikTok and Telegram, serve as primary vehicles for disinformation, foreign influence and covert financing. Coordinated campaigns exploit identity, religion and traditional values to polarize society, while Telegram has also been used to harass and intimidate journalists. Although cooperation frameworks with platforms and fact-checking initiatives have been expanded, responses remain inconsistent and the scale and sophistication of manipulative tactics outpace institutional and civil-society efforts.” – noted Milikic further.
Ana Mihajlovic, Deputy Head of Mission, remarked: “Electoral engagement with national minorities is limited, leaving these communities vulnerable to propaganda and disinformation. While campaign materials are frequently available in Russian, according to limited ENEMO observation, they are largely absent in other minority languages, and contestants are generally not targeting these groups with specific messages. According to CEC data, only 5,7 percent of the country's polling locations are fully accessible, 28.7 percent are partially accessible, and 65.6 percent remain inaccessible.”
The Mission will continue to stay in the country and will issue its Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions on 29 September, the day after election day.
ENEMO’s International Election Observation Mission for the 2025 Parliamentary Elections in Moldova is financially supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Soros Foundation in Moldova. The contents of the presented report, as well as other statements and reports are the sole responsibility of ENEMO and do not necessarily reflect the views of the donors.
Press release in Romanian can be found here.
Interim report can be found here. (ENG)
Interim report can be found here. (RO)
