KYIV (Reuters) -Moldovan authorities carried out scores of raids on Monday over alleged Russian-backed efforts to destabilise the country, police said, ahead of a parliamentary election which officials believe the Kremlin is trying to influence through meddling.
The high-stakes September 28 vote could have sweeping consequences for Moldova's bid to join the European Union, a process it says Moscow is attempting to derail through tactics like disinformation, organising mass riots, and vote-buying.
The national police said investigators, alongside security forces, had conducted 250 searches against more than 100 people, but did not specify any political affiliations.
"The searches are related to a criminal case into the preparation of mass riots and destabilization, which were coordinated from the Russian Federation through criminal elements," it said in a statement.
The co-leader of Moldova's pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc, which is expected to pose a stiff challenge to the ruling pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), said some members were targeted.
"The criminal PAS regime is trying to intimidate us, frighten the people, and silence us," Igor Dodon, a former president, said on the Telegram messaging app.
President Maia Sandu, who has described Sunday's vote as the "most consequential election" in Moldova's history, has warned that Moscow wants to sway the poll to keep Chisinau within its orbit.
Last month, fugitive tycoon Ilan Shor, who has been sanctioned by the U.S. and EU as an alleged Russian agent, openly offered Moldovans monthly payments of $3,000 to join anti-government protests.
Russia has denied interfering in Moldova's domestic affairs.
(Reporting by Alexander Tanas and Dan Peleschuk; Writing by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
