Pro-EU party wins Moldova polls

Moldova's pro-EU ruling party on Monday celebrated a key election victory, as it accused Russia of throwing "everything dirty it had" into a bid to sway the vote in the ex-Soviet republic.

The small EU candidate country neighbouring Ukraine and with a pro-Russia breakaway region has long been divided over whether to move closer with Brussels or maintain Soviet-era relations with Moscow.

Sunday's parliamentary elections -- won by the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) -- were seen as crucial in determining whether the nation of 2.4 million would keep up its push towards EU integration, launched after Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

"Yesterday's vote is a strong mandate for the process of Moldova's accession to the EU," President Maia Sandu of PAS told reporters on Monday.

But the elections were marred by widespread allegations of Russian interference -- vote-buying, attempts to stir unrest and disinformation on what the EU called an unprecedented scale.