By Dan Peleschuk

CHISINAU, Moldova (Reuters) -Moldova’s ruling pro-EU party pulled comfortably ahead of its Russian-leaning rival in a crucial parliamentary election as final results trickled in on Monday, a relief for the government as it seeks to keep the country out of Moscow’s orbit.

With around 93% of votes counted, the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) had 47% versus 27% for the Patriotic Bloc, which opposes closer ties with Brussels.

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 ov

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