Moldova’s pro-EU President Maia Sandu has claimed a second term in a pivotal presidential runoff seen as a choice between Europe and Russia.
Of the 98 per cent of votes counted, Sandu won nearly 55 per cent in the second round of the presidential election held on Sunday.
Her rival, former prosecutor general, Alexandr Stoianoglo, was backed by the pro-Russia Party of Socialists. It was believed a victory for him could allow Moscow to win more influence in a diplomatic battleground between Russia and the EU.
Like Ukraine and Georgia, the former Soviet republic, with a population of about 2.5 million people, is caught in a constant geopolitical tug between Moscow and the West.
On social media site X, the president's national security adviser said: “We are seeing massive interference by Russia in our electoral process,” which he warned had a “high potential to distort the outcome” of the vote.
Meanwhile, Moldova’s Prime Minister Dorin Recean said people throughout the country had received “anonymous death threats via phone calls” in what he called “an extreme attack” to scare voters.
Russia had already denied meddling in the vote, which came a week after another key election in Georgia, whose president said it had been a "Russian special operation".
Stoianoglo, who was fired as prosecutor general by Sandu, 52, has denied being a “Trojan horse” for the Kremlin’s interests after the accusation was made during a presidential debate.
But his dominance across swathes of the country suggests his rivals faces a stiff challenge at key parliamentary elections next summer that will determine the composition of the government.
As polls closed on the weekend, both candidates thanked voters, with Stoianoglo speaking in Russian, still widely spoken across the country, as well as Romanian, Moldova's main language.
After claiming victory, Sandu said: “Moldova, you are victorious! Today, dear Moldovans, you have given a lesson in democracy, worthy of being written in history books. Today, you have saved Moldova!”
She went on to claim that her country’s vote had faced an “unprecedented attack” through alleged schemes including dirty money, vote-buying, and electoral interference “by hostile forces from outside the country” and criminal groups.
“You have shown that nothing can stand in the way of the people’s power when they choose to speak through their vote,” she added.
On Sunday night, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Sandu on her re-election victory and the country’s “European future”.
“It takes a rare kind of strength to overcome the challenges you’ve faced in this election. I’m glad to continue working with you towards a European future for Moldova and its people,” von der Leyen wrote on X.
Turnout was especially high, as the vote marked the largest number of expatriate voters to take part in a Moldovan election since 2010, when the diaspora was first allowed to elect a president.
Results follow the first round of the votes held on October 20, when Sandu’s position was weakened as she obtained 42 per cent of the ballot, and failed to win an outright majority.
Both presidential election rounds, as well as the EU referendum vote, were marred by accusations of Russian interference.
For months, Sandu and her allies have accused Russia and its proxies of leading a large-scale campaign involving vote-buying and misinformation to sway the election.
