Alleged Russian meddling failed to prevent Moldova's pro-Western president from narrowly winning reelection in a runoff Sunday.
President Maia Sandu claimed victory after 98% of the ballots showed her with 54.35% of the vote in her race against Alexandr Stoianoglo of the pro-Russia Socialist Party.
The campaign was marked by repeated allegations that Russia and fugitive Moldovan tycoon Ilan Shor, who lives in Russia, were trying to influence the election in the former Soviet republic bordered by Ukraine and Romania, Reuters reported.
Shor, who fled Moldova in 2019 after being sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for his role in a $1 billion-plus bank fraud, has been accused of trying to buy the votes of 300,000 people for the first round of voting on Oct. 20.
"We're seeing massive interference by Russia in our electoral process...an effort with high potential to distort the outcome," Sandu's national security adviser Stanislav Secrieru wrote Sunday on the social media website X.
Secrieru cited reports of voters being taken to polling places, cyberattacks and hoax bomb threats directed at polling stations outside the country in Europe, Reuters said.
Russia and Shor have denied meddling in Moldova's election.
Sandu's victory was secured with the overwhelming support of voters living outside Moldova, Reuters said.
Those votes overcame the narrow edge Stoianoglo won within the country's borders and the final outcome gave Sandu 55.33% of the overall vote, according to Reuters.
Sandu, a former World Bank adviser who wants to sever Moldova's ties to Moscow and join the European Union, pledged to be a "president for all" during her victory speech.
"I want you to know: I have heard all voices, including the critical ones," she said.
The Socialist Party disputed the results and called Sandu the "president of the diaspora."
