Maia Sandu Takes Lead in Moldovan Presidential Elections: Vote Counting Continues

Maia Sandu Takes the Lead in Moldovan Presidential Elections: Vote Counting Continues Anastasia Kolesnikova

The second round of the presidential elections has ended in Moldova. The incumbent head of the country, Maia Sandu, and pro-Russian candidate Alexander took part in it. Stoianoglo.

According to the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova, the turnout is 54.19 percent. Although polling stations in the country itself have closed, they continue to operate in a number of countries in Europe and North America. It is expected that the votes of the diaspora will be decisive in choosing the winner.

Who is winning inside Moldova

After processing more than 95 percent of the ballotsMaia Sandu is in the lead. She has currently received 52 percent of the vote. Alexandru Stoianoglo has 48 percent of the support.

Earlier, Chisinau warned the EU about possible attempts by Russia to interfere in the voting of emigrants. It was noted that the Kremlin could disrupt the elections due to reports of mining at polling stations in EU countries where the pro-European diaspora of Moldova lives.

The chairman of the National Congress of Ukrainians of Moldova, Dmitri Lekartsev, who monitored the second round, reported new forms of interference in the elections. According to the official, it occurs through bribed voters who are brought to the polling stations in an organized manner. It is known that on the eve of the second round, Moldovan citizens were brought from Russia in a centralized manner by free buses.

Recall that in the first round, Sandu received 42.45% of the votes, and Stoianoglo – 25.99%. The second round was scheduled because neither candidate received 50% of the votes.

Note that after the first round, there was a debate between Sandu and Stoianoglo. The pro-Russian candidate assured that he would help Ukraine in the war. The President exposed her opponent’s deceit. She stated that Kyiv knows very well that he is a man of Moscow. Sandu added that Dodon (former pro-Russian president of Moldova) is behind Stoianoglo.

By the way, Channel 24 analyzed why almost half of Moldova's population voted against the EU course. In particular, this happened because of the Russification of Moldova and the bribery of voters by the Kremlin, as well as the lack of understanding by some part of the population of the importance of the referendum and its very essence.

Also, the lion's share of the population associated support for the referendum with support for the current candidate, Maia Sandu, which could sometimes cause personal protest.