The pro-EU president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, won a second term after defeating moderate pro-Russian rival Alexandr Stoianoglo at a significant margin of nearly 10 percentage points during a heated second round that brought almost 55% of the voters to the polling stations, according to the preliminary results announced by the central electoral commission after the counting of the votes from 98.7% of the polling stations.

The voting was marked by events as pro-Russian groups controlled by fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor attended to disrupt the voting process in the pro-EU diaspora while organizing the voting process in regions populated by the pro-Russian electorate. 

Both sides engaged in rather unorthodox practices, as Moldova organized only two voting stations in Russia - both in the same building. In response, Shor organized air transportation for Moldovan voters from Russia to Belarus, Turkey, and possibly the United Arab Emirates, where the voting ballots were insufficient, although they were twice as many as the number of voters in the first round.

Stoianoglo received nearly 52% of the votes in Moldova, but 82% of the Moldovans living abroad backed president Sandu. In total, over 300,000 votes came from abroad out of the total number of 1.65 million votes expressed.

In a first reaction after the results, Maia Sandu thanked the voters and sent a message of unity, saying they saved Moldova and gave a lesson in democracy. "Freedom, truth, and justice won. Moldova managed to show its will and power through the vote of each of us," she stated, as reported by News.ro.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos / Elena Covalenco)