Podgorica, 17 December 2025 - The European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) today published its Final Report following a Limited Election Observation Mission to Moldova’s 28 September 2025 Parliamentary Elections. The report assesses the electoral process for compliance with international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with the national legal framework, and offers recommendations to support further improvements.

ENEMO found that the elections took place in a highly polarized environment amid persistent disinformation and misinformation, including foreign influence and other hybrid threats seeking to shape public narratives. While the authorities undertook a range of measures and adopted significant legal amendments intended to address election integrity risks, ENEMO observed that hostile operations at times remained ahead of institutional responses, pointing to the need for further sustained and coordinated efforts to safeguard electoral integrity and the broader information space.

ENEMO assessed that the elections were administered efficiently and in general within established deadlines. The election administration carried out preparations in a professional manner, despite limited resources and the additional workload created by frequent legal amendments. At the same time, ENEMO observed that decision-making on substantive and politically sensitive matters was often divided, which, together with perceptions among some stakeholders regarding the impartiality of certain decisions, underlined the importance of reinforcing public confidence.

ENEMO concludes that the legal framework provides an overall adequate basis for the conduct of democratic elections. However, ENEMO notes that numerous amendments were adopted since the new Election Code entered into force, including close to the 28 September elections, creating implementation challenges and reducing legal certainty. Several provisions introduced shortly before the elections were broadly formulated and granted wide discretion to executive and security bodies, raising concerns about proportionality and foreseeability. ENEMO stresses that measures aimed at protecting election integrity should be clearly grounded in law, strictly necessary and proportionate, and accompanied by strong safeguards, including timely and effective judicial oversight and remedies, to ensure full respect for fundamental freedoms.

The campaign was competitive, but often confrontational and personalized, limiting space for substantive debate. ENEMO received recurrent allegations of misuse of administrative resources and noted that the visibility of public officials in their institutional capacities on issues closely aligned with political messaging may blur the separation between state and party. ENEMO emphasizes that a clear distinction between official duties and campaign activities is essential to ensure equal conditions for all contestants. The report highlights continuing concerns regarding illicit financing, vote-buying and foreign-linked influence efforts, including covert online operations. 

ENEMO notes that the legal framework for campaign finance has been strengthened and that oversight was active; however, ENEMO observed that the breadth of certain powers, the reliance on expedited procedures and the late timing of key decisions affecting contestants’ participation raised concerns about legal certainty and the effectiveness of remedy at a critical stage of the process. ENEMO underlines that the possibility to restrict the activities of contestants or to cancel registration should be treated as an exceptional measure of last resort and subject to expedited but meaningful judicial review in time to ensure an effective remedy and to protect voters’ ability to make an informed choice.

ENEMO assessed that the media environment remains diverse but is affected by structural, financial and political pressures. ENEMO notes that monitoring contributed to greater transparency, but that sanctions had limited deterrent effect and that problematic content increasingly shifted to less regulated online and cross-border environments. ENEMO considers the online information space to be a key vulnerability, noting that responses remain reactive and fragmented, with limited transparency regarding content restriction measures and an ongoing gap between platform commitments and effective implementation. ENEMO stresses the need for a comprehensive and coordinated approach to address disinformation, covert financing and online manipulation, including stronger cooperation with technology companies and enhanced transparency, oversight and safeguards for any content-blocking practices.

ENEMO found that the framework for electoral dispute resolution provides a broadly coherent hierarchy of remedies, but that practice revealed shortcomings that limited effective redress in some cases. ENEMO observed that procedural barriers resulted in a considerable number of submissions being dismissed on admissibility grounds; that cases forwarded to other bodies were not systematically tracked and publicly reported; and that public information on the outcomes of election-related contravention and criminal investigations remained limited. 

ENEMO’s priority recommendations include further strengthening institutional capacity and interagency coordination to deter malign interference, including illicit and foreign funding and vote-buying; reviewing security, extremism and party related legislation to ensure clear definitions and robust safeguards against arbitrary or selective application; avoiding substantial amendments to the electoral legal framework shortly before elections and ensuring that any necessary changes follow inclusive and transparent consultations; ensuring that any restrictions on contestants’ activities and deregistrations are exceptional, proportionate and subject to meaningful judicial review in time to provide an effective remedy; and conducting the appointment of the new CEC through an open and transparent process.

ENEMO encourages state institutions, political parties and candidates, the media, civil society and international partners to consider and follow up on the report’s recommendations, with a view to further strengthening the integrity of elections and public confidence in democratic institutions.

The report can be downloaded here.