Moldovan President Maia Sandu announced victory in the elections

Presidential elections were held in Moldova: Sandu wins by a significant margin, gaining 55% of the votes.

Bloomberg edition notesWhile the victory bolsters Moldova's bid to join the European Union before the end of the decade, it tests the resilience of pro-European sentiment on Europe's eastern border. The current president said:

“We have proven that united we can defeat those who would bring us to our knees.”

According to the Central Election Commission of Moldova, Sandu beat her rival Alexandru Stoianoglo, a former chief prosecutor who has promised to maintain close ties to the Kremlin. The publication adds that Sandu promised to promote Moldova in EUdespite fierce opposition from Russia, which it accuses of interfering in the country's democratic process.

The counting of 100% of the votes of voters who voted at polling stations inside Moldova confirmed that without taking into account the diaspora, the candidate from the pro-Russian party would have won, reports a correspondent of European Pravda.

Shortly before midnight, the Central Election Commission announced the completion of the counting of votes in all 1,988 polling stations inside Moldova, including those where residents of the non-government-controlled Transnistria region vote.

1 million 353 thousand voters voted, of which 51.19% (692,533 votes) went to Alexander Stoianoglo, nominated by the Socialist Party led by Igor Dodon. The remaining 48.81% (660,226 votes) was received by the current president, the pro-Western and pro-Ukrainian Maia Sandu. In Chisinau, Sandu is the leader, she received 57.38% of the votes and won in all districts of the city, except for the traditionally more pro-Russian Botany. It is interesting that at the polling stations where residents of Transnistria voted, Sandu received more than 20% of the votes.

The total count also includes votes in foreign polling stations, which turned out to be decisive – thanks to the diaspora, Sandu won the elections by a significant margin.

On Sunday, Moldovan authorities announced “massive interference” from Moscow aimed at disrupting voting in the second round of elections. National Security Advisor to the current President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, Stanislav Secrieru, said that we are talking about efforts with a high potential for distorting the voting results. The authorities, he noted, are on high alert.

Among examples of such interference, Councilor Sandu named the organized transportation of voters from Transnistria, which is illegal according to the electoral code of Moldova. As of 11:00, the turnout among Transnistrian voters had already exceeded the total for the entire first round.

Sekrieru published a queue of cars crossing the bridge over the Dniester River from the Transnistrian city of Rybnitsa to the city of Rezina on the right bank of the Dniester. He recalled that the authorities of the Russian Federation are responsible for what is happening in the Transnistrian region of Moldova, which is confirmed by several decisions of the ECHR.

Also, according to Advisor Sandu, there is organized transportation of voters from Russia. Buses and large charter flights are taking voters to polling stations in Baku, Istanbul and Minsk, Russian channels reported. Secrieru released a video from the charter flight, originally published by Russia's Sputnik, showing a plane full of Moldovan passport holders, noting:

“The aircraft appears to be capable of carrying between 260 and 400 voters – clear evidence of large-scale, organized voter transportation.”

Moldova's cybersecurity agency reported that the Central Election Commission's voter education website was temporarily down on Sunday morning due to a DDoS attack. Operational actions restored access to the site and the integrity of the data was not compromised. The advisor noted:

“Additional measures are being taken to ensure the smooth conduct of the electoral process.”

On the day of the second round of presidential elections, the Moldovan police recorded the organized transportation of voters to polling stations. At the polling stations where residents of Transnistria vote, the elections were held with high activity – queues were recorded there. Some voters, commenting on their reasons for coming to vote, quote the slogan of the candidate from the pro-Russian Party of Socialists, Alexander Stoianoglo, and say that they are voting “for justice.”

Moldovan President Maia Sandu addressed voters who had already demonstrated a record turnout, a European Pravda correspondent reported. The speech Sandu gave at her campaign headquarters immediately after the polling stations inside Moldova closed was used to encourage foreign voters to go to the polls. quotes “European truth”:

“In foreign polling stations, where voters have shown exceptional mobilization, the voting process continues. I encourage those who have not yet done so to go to the polling stations.”

As of 21:00, 315 thousand voters voted at foreign polling stations, which is an absolute record and close to 20% of voters. In the first round there was also very high voter participation, with 240 thousand people voting abroad.

Sandu emphasized that her call concerns voters of all candidates. However, voters in European and American polling stations overwhelmingly vote for Maia Sandu. The President also thanked all voters who voted in Chisinau, where her support is also significantly higher than the average for Moldova.

Almost 1.7 million voters came to the elections, and after processing three-quarters of the votes, Alexander Stoianoglo gained almost 52%. But then the opposition candidate slowly began to lose fractions of a percent, and within one hour the ratings first became equal, and later Maia Sandu became the leader.

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