Chisinau  - Moldovan election monitors on Thursday warned of violence and possible fraud in the former Soviet republic's upcoming parliamentary vote, Moldova-1 television reported.

Observers working for the NGO Citizens Control Elections 2009 (CCE) said violence thus far had been on a low level but could intensify.

On Thursday, occupants of an automobile driving past the Chisinau headquarters of the currently third-place Liberal Democratic party hurled bags of yellow paint at the building, said Aleksander Babrov, a CCE spokesman.

Eyewitnesses reportedly identified the car's driver as Vitaly Robu, son of Nikolai Robu, a candidate for the competing Alliance Our Moldova political party.

The senior Robu later denied all connection to the incident.

The presence of individuals wanted by Interpol as candidates in other party lists also gave grounds for worry, as election of one or more persons hiding from international warrants would undermine the legitimacy of the vote, Babrov said.

Babrov singled out Anatol' Yashchiuk, a senior candidate for the Liberal Democrats, against whom Spanish police are attempting to serve an arrest warrant.

Paul Strutsescu, director of the League for the Defence of Human Rights in Moldova (LDHRM) said substantial vote fraud remained possible outside Moldova, when Moldovan migrant workers in Europe attempted to cast ballots.

Limited independent monitoring of absentee votes cast at Moldovan diplomatic legations abroad, and possible loyalty to the ruling Communist party by embassy and consulate staff, were currently the most worrying aspects of the upcoming vote, Strutsescu said.

Absentee voters are a critical sector of the Moldovan electorate, because as many as one in four working-age Moldovans are employed abroad, usually as illegal labourers in western European construction or agriculture.

Indicative of tensions leading up to the vote was last week's remarks by President Vladimir Voronin, who during a live televised meeting with Serafim Urekyan, leader of the Alliance Our Moldova, called his opponent "a pig."

Questionable vote-getting tactics already employed by one or more of the dozen parties competing for parliament seats included cash gifts to ethnic Roma, pay offs to attendees of politcal rallies, new icons gifted by parties to regional churches, and holding a fixed-result beauty pageant in the village Ocitsa, Strutescu said.

The leading Communists have in recent weeks been handing out washing machines, stoves, and even automobiles to selected state employees in an attempt to buttress their lead, Pro-TV reported.

Moldova's parliamentary elections are scheduled for April 5. The ruling Communists are according to surveys likely to capture a majority, with between two and four centre-right parties retaining the chance to place candidates in the legislature as well. (dpa)