Dozens of protesters arrested in Moldovan capital (VIDEO)

Opposition leaders have pledged to challenge Sunday’s parliamentary election in the courts and on the streets

Over 30 people have been detained by Moldovan police during a rally outside the parliament in central Chisinau, the authorities said on Tuesday. Leaders of the opposition Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP) vowed to seek to overturn the results of Sunday’s parliamentary election.

The pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) narrowly retained its parliamentary majority, edging out the BEP, which campaigned to preserve the country’s constitutional neutrality.

Pro-Western officials hailed the result as a “milestone on the European path,” while critics said the vote was tightly controlled, citing opposition parties having been banned, observers blocked, and voters disenfranchised at home and abroad.  

The rally, which drew several hundred people, lasted about half an hour, according to media reports. Police cordoned off several blocks around the parliament and confiscated some megaphones.

“Thirty-one people were brought to police stations, most of the detainees are from the Transnistrian region,” the police said on their official Telegram channel.

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The BEP said on Tuesday it would seek to overturn the results of the parliamentary vote through the courts and in street protests.  

The bloc, which includes the Party of Socialists, Party of Communists and the Future of Moldova party, rejected the outcome of the election. Its leaders said they would “continue protests until the will of the people is respected.”

According to the Central Election Commission, PAS won 55 seats in the 101-seat parliament, while the Patriotic Bloc took 26 seats. The Alternative Bloc secured eight seats, and Our Party and Democracy at Home gained six each.

The Patriotic Bloc said it filed around 45 complaints over alleged violations, including ten on election day itself, but “most remain unanswered.” It accused President Maia Sandu, Prime Minister Dorin Recean and parliament speaker Igor Grosu of openly urging voters to support PAS on the day of the vote. The bloc also cited the fact that Moldovan voters in Austria and Romania had been given organized transport to the polling station. It also mentioned the last-minute disqualification of several opposition parties.