With around 96 per cent of votes counted early on Monday, the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) was close to winning 50 per cent of the vote, well ahead of the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc on under 25 per cent. Voter turnout was more than 52 percent, higher than in recent years.
While still short of a majority in the 101-seat chamber, the preliminary count gets PAS closer to the threshold than many political analysts had expected and could make coalition-building less fraught than feared.
And with more ballots to come in from overseas voters, who tend to favour integration with Europe, it remains possible PAS will get more than 50 per cent in the final tally.
Holding on to its parliamentary majority would allow the party to keep Moldova's European Union bid on track, a process requiring years of concerted legislative efforts.
The buildup to what PAS leaders have called the most consequential election in Moldova since independence was marred by accusations of foul play by both sides up to and on the day of polling.
President Maia Sandu's government warned Moldovans that Russia had attempted to sway the vote through widespread disinformation and vote-buying.
Stanislav Secrieru, Sandu's national security adviser, said election infrastructure and government websites had come under cyber attack, and that fake bomb threats were called into polling stations in Moldova and abroad.
Moscow has denied meddling in Moldova.
On Sunday, Patriotic Bloc co-leader Igor Dodon, a former Moldovan president, called for protests in front of parliament on Monday, claiming that Sandu was planning to annul the vote. He did not provide evidence.
Authorities will watch closely to see if Dodon follows through on the threat, and what crowds he can command if he does.
In the days leading up to the vote, election officials barred two pro-Russian parties from the ballot amid allegations of illegal financing.
Authorities late on Sunday had warned of attempts to stir unrest following the vote, part of a campaign that they blamed on Russian-backed efforts to disrupt the election if it did not go in the bloc's favour.
Moldova - a former Soviet republic of 2.4 million people that has been buffeted by the war in neighbouring Ukraine, alleged Russian interference and energy shortages - has long vacillated between Russia and Europe.
Opposition groups like the Patriotic Bloc had sought to tap into voter anger over economic pain and the slow pace of reforms - grievances worsened by what officials say has been widespread disinformation.
Inflation remains stubbornly high at around seven per cent, while Moldovans also shoulder higher costs for imported energy.
But the stronger-than-expected electoral performance by PAS suggests its platform of European integration and breaking with Russia still resonates among wide swathes of voters.
A near-full, preliminary count is usually known in the early hours of the following morning after the closure of polls on Sunday. Votes from expatriate Moldovans can take another day to come in.
