Pro-EU leader Maia Sandu declared victory despite accusations of Russian interference

Moldova’s pro-EU President Maia Sandu has won a second term after a tense election seen as a choice between Europe and Russia.

With most preliminary results counted, Sandu is leading with nearly 55% of the vote, and in a late-night speech she promised to be president for all Moldovans.

Her opponent, Alexandr Stoianoglo, who is backed by the pro-Russian Socialist Party, has promised closer ties with Moscow.

During the vote, the president’s national security adviser said there had been “major interference” from Russia in Moldova’s election process and there was a “high possibility of distorting the results”.

Russia has denied meddling in the vote, which comes a week after another key Eastern European election in Georgia, where the president said it was a “Russian special operation”.

Stoianoglo, who Sandu fired as prosecutor general, has denied supporting the Kremlin.

As the polls closed, both Maia Sandu, 52, and her opponent thanked voters, with Stoianoglo speaking in Russian as well as Romanian. Although Romanian is the main language of Moldova, Russian is widely used due to its Soviet past.

Voting ended in Moldova at 21:00 (19:00 GMT), with a turnout of 54%, higher than four years ago and especially high among foreign voters at polling stations. votes abroad.

Stoianoglo took an early lead and won in Moldova itself with more than 51%, according to preliminary results. Sandu was well ahead in the capital Chisinau and completely dominated among foreign voters.

When she overcame her challenger on Sunday night, there were cheers at her campaign headquarters and chants of “victory.”

In a hoarse voice, she praised her compatriots for saving Moldova and giving “a lesson in democracy, worthy of being recorded in the history books”.

Then, switching to Russian, she said: “I heard your voices – both those who supported me and those who voted for Mr. Stoianoglo. In our choice for a worthy future , no one is lost… we need to unite.”

Maia Sandu’s foreign policy adviser, Olga Rosca, told the BBC she was proud of the result.

Asked if she was surprised that Stoianoglo won in Moldova itself, she said that voting in Moldova and abroad should be considered one and the same: “We never divided every people into Moldovans at home and abroad – we consider Moldovans as family.”

With elections coming up next year, she said the president has “clearly shown that she hears the tide of change. In some cases between [two presidential] “The fight against corruption must be strengthened and judicial reform must be accelerated – she is committed to this work,” she said.

The final results will be announced on Monday.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Sandu, saying “it takes a rare kind of strength to overcome the challenges you face in this election.

“I am happy to continue working with you towards a European future for Moldova and its people,” her message on X said.

When voting, Alexandr Stoianoglo promised to be an “apolitical president” and he voted for “a Moldova that will develop in harmony with both the West and the East”.

Stoianoglo polled particularly well in rural and southern regions, while Sandu led in cities and with younger voters.

After voting, Sandu warned about “thieves” seeking to buy their votes and their country.

President’s national security adviser Stanislav Secrieru said Russia organized buses and large charter flights to take voters to polling stations.

Bomb threats briefly disrupted voting in Moldova, at UK polling stations in Liverpool and Northampton and in Frankfurt and Kaiserslautern in Germany, he added.

A Soviet republic for 51 years, Moldova is located next to Ukraine and Romania and is one of Europe’s poorest countries. It has a population of 2.5 million and a foreign population of 1.2 million.

Moldovan authorities have long warned that a fugitive oligarch named Ilan Shor spent $39 million trying to bribe Moscow’s election with grants to 138,000 Moldovans.

Shor, who is based in Moscow, denies wrongdoing but has promised cash payments to anyone willing to back his “firm no” call for the EU.

Commentators and politicians have warned that Stoianoglo’s victory could radically change the political landscape in the Danube and Black Sea region, not least because he is some kind of “Trojan horse”. that, but rather because Russia has thrown its weight behind him.

There were long queues at polling stations in Moscow, Italy and among voters from the mainly Russian-speaking breakaway region of Transnistria, who had to cross the Dniester River into Moldova-controlled territory to vote. vote. Transnistria is home to a Russian military base and a huge arsenal of weapons.

Moldova’s election commission said it was aware of reports of organized and illegal transport of voters by air and road in Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Türkiye, and called on public they report subsequent violations.

Although Sandu easily won the first round of voting, several candidates stood behind Stoianoglo, although the third-placed candidate refused to support either of them.

The first round coincided with a fierce referendum in favor of constitutional change that included a commitment to join the EU.

In the end, the vote passed by a slim margin and Maia Sandu said there was clear evidence of an attempt to buy 300,000 votes.