MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. Europe is pushing Moldova down the Ukrainian path with the help of the regime of Moldovan President Maia Sandu and electoral fraud, Alexander Dudchak, a leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries and an expert at the Other Ukraine movement, has told TASS.

"There was no surprise; the election results were cynical theft. Europe is dragging Moldova down the Ukrainian path with the help of the Sandu regime," Dudchak said.

The expert clarified that all of Moldova's internal problems significantly mirror those in Ukraine.

"The liquidation of the opposition, a huge portion of the population leaving the country, economic degradation, and people being indoctrinated with Russophobic ideology. Although this has little effect, it is at least sufficient for the media," he added.

The expert particularly noted the way the elections were organized "according to European rules," where Moldovan citizens were not allowed to vote in either Russia or Transnistria: polling stations "mockingly opened 20 minutes before closing."

According to preliminary data from the Moldovan Central Election Commission, the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) retains control of parliament, receiving 55 seats in the 101-seat legislature. The Patriotic Bloc has 26 seats, the pro-European bloc Alternative has 8 seats, and Our Party and Democracy at Home have 6 each. However, the final results are yet to be announced by the Central Election Commission. The Patriotic Bloc includes the Party of Socialists, led by the former president, Igor Dodon, the Party of Communists, led by former leader Vladimir Voronin, and the Future of Moldova party of former Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev. The Alternative party consists of the National Alternative Movement, led by Chisinau Mayor Ion Ceban, the Party of Development and Consolidation of Moldova, led by the former prime minister, Ion Chicu, and the Civic Congress party, led by Mark Tkaciuk.