Moldova confirmed its European orientation on Sunday by re-electing Maja Sandu, in the second round of presidential elections after tensions and against the backdrop of suspicions of Russian interference.
"Today, dear Moldovans, you taught a lesson in democracy worthy of being in the history books," said 52-year-old Sandu at her election headquarters late last night.
She won 54,9 percent of the vote, compared to 45 percent for Alexander Stojanoglu, a 57-year-old former prosecutor backed by pro-Russian socialists.
Aleksandar Stojanoglo held an early lead that continued to shrink as votes were counted from the big cities, where Sandu has the most support.
As during recent parliamentary elections in Georgia, another former Soviet republic, Russia has been accused of meddling in the election process, which the Kremlin has categorically denied.
However, this time the outcome was favorable for the pro-European camp.
Brussels reacted very quickly. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was "pleased to continue working with Maja Sandu for Europe's future".
French President Emmanuel Macron also said he was satisfied that "democracy has triumphed over all interference."
Maja Sandu, the first woman who, in 2020, occupied the highest office in Moldova, which is located between NATO and the Russian sphere of influence, turned her back on Russian President Vladimir Putin after the start of the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine and made a clear turn towards the West.
Sandu won the most votes in the first round of the presidential elections on October 20, but in the second round, her opponent Stojanoglo counted on the support of several small candidates.
The Central Election Commission announced that the turnout exceeded 54 percent, which is more than in the first round, but also more than in the second round of the 2020 presidential election.
In a country that is at the crossroads of the political divide between East and West, incumbent President Maja Sandu won the first round of elections on October 20, with 42 percent of the vote.
Her main opponent, former chief prosecutor Aleksandar Stojanoglo, who received the support of the pro-Russian Party of Socialists of Moldova, received 26 percent of the vote in the first round.
"Thieves want to buy our votes, they want to buy our country, but the power of the people is infinitely greater than any of their malice. The strength of Moldova is in each of you. Keep your heads up, Moldovans," Sandu told reporters at the polling station after casting her vote.
Moldova's election was held amid accusations of Russian interference in the presidential race and a referendum on Moldova's potential further integration into the European Union, a direction Sandu and her supporters support.
The referendum for the integration of Moldova into the European Union, held simultaneously with the presidential elections, passed with 50,38 percent of the votes in favor of the pro-European current, despite the fact that the "no" camp was in the lead until the early hours of October 21.
But Sandu soon established that "criminal groups together with foreign forces" tried to "buy 300.000 votes".
The president's national security advisor, Stanislav Secrieru, announced on the X social network that there was "massive interference" by Russia in the second round of voting.
"An attempt with high potential to skew the outcome," he said in the post, without elaborating.
Polls also showed that Sandu would easily win the first round of the presidential election, but Socialist challenger Stojanoglo surprised with a better-than-expected overall result, forcing a second round of voting.
Moldova has just over three million registered voters, including those in the diaspora. The president can perform this duty in two consecutive four-year terms.
Sandu (52) graduated from Harvard and used to work for the World Bank. She became the first female president of Moldova, with a convincing victory in 2020, in an election race with a strong pro-European message and a promise to fight corruption.
But her support has waned amid the coronavirus pandemic and a devastated economy, as well as rising tensions with Russia.
As president, Sandu played a key role in securing Moldova's candidacy for future EU membership, which became especially important after Russia's invasion of Ukraine a few months earlier.
During her presidential term, Sanda was criticized by pro-Kremlin political parties who accused her of fueling the conflict with Moscow.
Stojanoglo, 57, was Moldova's chief prosecutor between 2019 and 2021 and his campaign was dedicated to law and order, although he has been criticized for allegedly failing to tackle high-level corruption.
Stojanoglo claimed that he was not politically committed and rejected accusations that he was a "Moscow man". His reaction to the war in Ukraine was ambiguous, declaring that he had a "negative attitude" to the conflict, but not directly condemning Russia for the invasion.
Moldova is one of Europe's poorest countries with a significant Russian minority and the separatist region of Transnistria on the left bank of the Dniester River, which is supported by Moscow.
Russia, which still has about 1.500 troops in Moldova's separatist Transnistria region, said on Nov. 1 it was monitoring the runoff but denied any interference despite accusations to the contrary by Sandu and the West.
Separately, Moldova's National Anti-Corruption Center (CNA) announced on November 1 that police and prosecutors raided several locations in the country as part of six criminal investigations into election corruption.
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