As the poll was underway, a pro-Russian leader called for potential post-vote protests and cyber authorities reported that election infrastructure had been attacked over the past two days. Russian interferencePresident Maia Sandu casts the election as an existential test for the country of 2.4 million, which also has close cultural and linguistic ties with its western neighbor Romania. Sandu, who wants Chisinau to join the EU by 2030, has warned of "immediate and dangerous" consequences if Russian influence prevails. Days before the vote, election officials struck two parties in the Patriot Bloc from the ballot amid allegations of illegal financing. Moldovans divided over future pathPower in the former Soviet republic has swung for decades between pro-European and pro-Russian groups.