July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Four pro-European opposition parties in Moldova took the lead after yesterday’s parliamentary elections in the ex-Soviet republic, results show.

The parties together had 49.8 percent of the vote, according to the Central Election Commission. The Communists had 45.9 percent after initially leading the counting, according to results posted just after 3 a.m. local time.

An exit poll released earlier projected a victory for the opposition, the Associated Press reported. Opposition parties were projected to win 53.9 percent and the Communists 41.7 percent, according to the poll by the Institute for Public Politics of about 17,000 voters in 200 polling stations. It had a margin of error of 2 percentage points, AP said.

The country of 4.4 million people located between Ukraine and Romania, is split between those with a pro-Russian sentiment, led by the ethnic Russian minority, and opponents who advocate closer ties to the West since seeing comparatively prosperous Romania join the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in recent years.

“Our neighbors to the east and west need a real political partner, not a bogus government that makes empty promises,” opposition Liberal Democratic Party leader Vlad Filat said by telephone from the capital, Chisinau, earlier today.

The Liberal Democrats had 16.1 percent, according to the election commission. Among other West-leaning parties, the Democratic Party had 12.9 percent, the Liberal Party had 13.2 percent and Our Moldova Alliance garnered 7.6 percent. Turnout was 59 percent, the commission said on its Web site.

Second Poll

The second election this year comes almost four months after a Communist Party victory led to clashes between opposition supporters and police that left a man dead and dozens injured.

President Vladimir Voronin’s Communists won 60 seats in the April election, one short of the number needed to name the next president without backing from another party. Moldova’s parliament elects the president. Voronin must resign after two terms in office.

Opposition supporters clashed with police in Chisinau after early results from the April vote indicated the Communists had won 61 seats in parliament. The opposition said the election was rigged. A recount gave the Communists 60 seats.

As a result, Communist-backed Zinaida Greceanii failed to win the required 61 seats in a June 3 ballot when the opposition staged a boycott. This triggered a new parliamentary election.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anastasia Ustinova in Moscow austinova@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 29, 2009 22:39 EDT