The Kremlin has accused authorities in Moldova of preventing hundreds of thousands of Moldovans living in Russia from voting in important parliamentary elections by providing them with only two polling stations in the country.
Moldova's pro-European ruling party won a landslide victory over its pro-Russian rival in parliamentary elections on Sunday, results showed, a major boost for Moldovans who want to join the EU and break away from Moscow's orbit.
Speaking to reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moldovans living in Russia, who traditionally vote more often for pro-Russian political forces at home, were unable to exercise their right to vote.
"Hundreds of thousands of Moldovans were deprived of the opportunity to vote in the Russian Federation due to the fact that only two polling stations were open to them," Peskov said.
When asked whether Moscow recognizes the results, Peskov noted that some political forces in Moldova have spoken of irregularities.
"First of all, Moldovans themselves need to clarify this. As far as we know, some political forces are expressing disagreement. They are talking about possible electoral irregularities," he said.
Around 500.000 Moldovan citizens live in Russia, according to Russian officials.
Most major European countries, where fewer Moldovans live than in Russia, had more than two polling stations available to voters on Sunday.
According to Moldovan authorities, just over 4.000 voters cast ballots in Russia, about two-thirds of whom were for the main pro-Russian bloc. In contrast, Moldovan citizens in Germany cast more than 38.000 votes at 36 different polling stations, mostly in favor of the ruling party.
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