Moldova Protests Russian Plan for 17 Transnistria Polling Stations in State Duma Election

Transnistrian leader Vadim Krasnoselsky said Russia intends to open 17 polling stations across Transnistria for the September 18-20 Russian State Duma election, far beyond the single Chisinau polling station — at the Russian Embassy — that Moldova's constitutional authorities have authorised. Moldova's Foreign Ministry first objected on August 31, calling the plan "unacceptable without the consent of Moldova's constitutional authorities" and a violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity. On September 2, Foreign Minister Mihai Popșoi said Chisinau was preparing a formal note of protest to Russia, warning that any polling station opened without Moldovan authorisation "would be regarded as an unfriendly move." Krasnoselsky's office separately reiterated that roughly 220,000 Transnistria residents are considered eligible under Moscow's passportisation decree, the same population base cited to justify the expanded voting infrastructure.