Pro-EU Parties ahead in Moldova Elections

Earlier results showed pro-Russia parties with a strong lead but as more votes were counted on Sunday night, the gap closed and the lead changed.

With 85 percent of the vote counted, the pro-Europe parties were ahead with about 44.4 percent, with 39.5 percent for the two pro-Russia parties. Parties need to get at least 6 percent to gain seats in the 101-member Parliament.

Moldova's parliamentary election on Sunday, which saw a voter turnout of 55.86 percent according to authorities, has taken on wider significance with the unrest in neighbouring Ukraine. Moldova, like Ukraine, has a pro-Russia separatist region in its east.

The surprise leader in the early tallies was the strongly pro-Russia Socialists' Party, which was in first place with 21.6 percent, according to partial results, AP reported.

The impoverished former Soviet republic of less than 4 million people is torn between re-electing the current pro-European coalition and choosing parties that want closer economic ties with Moscow.

Prime Minister Iurie Leanca said he voted for a "European Moldova - for a Moldova with justice".

"Everything ... indicates that Moldova cannot exist without Europe,'' he said.

Russia placed an embargo on Moldovan fruit after the country signed a trade association agreement with the European Union in June.

At least 600,000 Moldovans work abroad, half of them in the European Union and the rest in Russia. Remittances make up about one-fifth of the country's gross domestic product.

In Moscow, around 4,000 people lined up to vote including Renato Usatii, a businessman whose pro-Russia party was banned from competing on the grounds it received foreign funding, which is illegal. There were also lines in Rome, and thousands voted in Romania, where many Moldovan students are enrolled at universities.