The final election before the November 2024 presidential election will elect 12,000 officials. It is a tight race between the ruling Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) of pro-European President Maia Sandu and the Russia-leaning Renaissance Party.

The election will be a crucial test of President Sandu's trajectory - especially in smaller towns and villages - since her landslide victory in 2020.

In a televised appeal to voters on Friday evening, Ms Sandu called for a high turnout to back her pro-EU bid. “Thanks to your vote, Moldova has the opportunity to become a member of the European family…” she said.

Responding to Ms Sandu's comments this week, the Russian Foreign Ministry suggested she was trying to distract attention from her administration's failures.

Mai Anh (according to Reuters)