Moscow defies Chisinau with 16 unauthorized polling sites
Russia opened 16 unauthorized polling stations across the left bank of the Dniester on Sunday, defying protests from Chisinau on the final day of voting for the Russian State Duma.
Regional media reported that more than 8,000 Russian passport holders had cast ballots by 10:00 AM, with the heaviest turnout recorded in Tiraspol, Bender (Tighina), and Rîbnița. The Moldovan government authorized only one official polling station, located inside the Russian Embassy in Chișinău.
Six voting stations operated in Tiraspol, three in Bender, and one in each of the remaining major urban centers across Moldova's eastern districts.
Diplomatic tensions and sovereignty breaches
Russia's ambassador-designate to Moldova, Oleg Ozerov, cast his ballot at the embassy in Chișinău and anticipated broad participation among local Russian passport holders.
“We are counting heavily on the active participation of all Russian Federation citizens,” Ozerov said, according to Russian state news agency TASS. “There are literally hundreds of thousands. Therefore, of course, we are talking about a massive expression of will.”
The decision to proceed without Moldovan consent showed a “lack of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova,” said Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Valeriu Chiveri. He dismissed Moscow’s invocation of OSCE commitments as a distorted argument that misrepresents the framework's intent.
Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Ozerov on September 3, delivering a formal note of protest over Moscow’s plans. Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the unauthorized voting stations alongside illegal balloting in occupied Ukrainian territories, calling the moves a severe violation of international law.
Human rights association Promo-LEX underscored that staging unauthorized Russian ballots undermines the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of Moldova.
Regional electoral discrepancies
Moldova hosts the second-highest number of Russian polling stations worldwide outside Russia, trailing only Georgia. A total of 17 stations operated nationwide—one in Chișinău and 16 across the left bank of the Dniester—catering to an estimated 200,000 Russian passport holders.
By comparison, Georgia hosts 46 Russian stations exclusively in its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, with none in Tbilisi. Ukraine, where roughly eight million ethnic Russians reside, hosted no polling stations in territory controlled by Kyiv amid Moscow’s ongoing invasion.
The move mirrors previous breaches, including the March 2024 presidential election when Moscow opened six unauthorized voting stations in the region without Chisinau's approval.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
RELATED COVERAGE
- Bucharest condemns Russia's illegal polling stations in Transnistrian region
- Russia holds parliamentary vote with no opposition on ballot
- Chisinau authorities allow the opening of a polling station for the Russian presidential elections
- Moscow Opens Voting Sections in Transnistria Without Consent
- Moldova Election: Why Transnistria polling stations are a security risk
