Diego Herrera Cacedo/AnadoluMoldova’s pro-EU president Maia Sandu is expected to be re-elected after a crucial presidential election runoff, seen as a choice between Europe and Russia.
Alexander Stoianoglo, backed by the pro-Russian Socialist Party and promising closer ties with Moscow, took an early lead.
But with more than 90% of votes counted, the Central Election Commission said Sandhu was in the lead with 51% of the vote, and with expat results still coming in, she was expected to solidify her lead.
During the vote, the president’s national security adviser said Russia had engaged in “massive interference” in Moldova’s electoral process and “had a high risk of distorting the results.”
Russia has denied meddling in the vote, a week after another key Eastern European election was held in Georgia, which the president said was a “special operation by Russia”.
After the vote, both Maya Sandu and her rivals thanked voters, with Stoiano Gru speaking in Russian and Romanian. While Romanian is the main language in Moldova, Russian is also widely spoken due to its pre-Soviet past.
Alexander Stoianoglo, who was fired as prosecutor general by Sandu, denies being pro-Kremlin.
Polling in Moldova ended at 21:00 (19:00 GMT), with turnout 54% higher than four years ago, with particularly high turnout among expatriate voters at polling stations abroad.
As Sandhu took the lead, her campaign headquarters erupted with cheers and chants of “victory.”
The outcome is likely to get tighter as the results from polling stations in the European Union and the United States become clearer. Final results will be announced on Monday.
At the time of the vote, he promised to be an “apolitical president” for everyone and told reporters that he voted for “a Moldova that should develop in harmony with the West and the East.”
According to Moldovan media reports, Stoanoglu is polling particularly well in rural areas and in the south, while Sandu is leading in polls in cities and abroad.
EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockAfter casting his vote for Moldovans, Sandu called for the preservation of their independence and warned of “thieves” trying to buy their votes and their country.
Presidential national security adviser Stanislav Sekerru said Russia had organized buses and large charter flights to bring voters to polling stations.
He added that bomb scares briefly disrupted polling stations in Moldova, Liverpool and Northampton in England, and in Frankfurt and Kaiserslautern in Germany.
EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockMoldova, a Soviet republic for 51 years and flanked by Ukraine and Romania, 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 $39m (£30m) trying to hand out benefits to 138,000 Moldovans in exchange for Moscow elections.
Moscow-based Shore has denied wrongdoing but promised cash payouts to anyone prepared to support his call for a “no” to the EU.
Critics and politicians warn that Stoanoglu’s victory could fundamentally change the political landscape of the Danube and Black Sea regions, not because he is some kind of “Trojan horse” but because of Russia’s concerns about him support.
Voters lined up at polling stations in Moscow, Italy, as well as from the breakaway mainly Russian-speaking region of Transnistria, which they must cross into Moldovan-controlled territory to vote. Transnistria is home to Russian military bases and large arsenals.
The Electoral Commission of Moldova said it was aware of reports of organized and illegal transportation of voters by air and land from Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Turkey, and called on the public to report further violations.
Although Sandhu easily won the first round of voting, several candidates switched their support to Stoianoglo, although a third candidate refused to back either of the two.
The first round of voting coincided with a tense referendum in favor of amending the constitution and pledging to join the European Union.
The final vote was narrowly passed, with Maya Sandu saying there was clear evidence of attempts to buy 300,000 votes.
