Maia Sandu on course to win second term as Moldovan president

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Moldova’s President Maia Sandu was on course for victory in a second-round run-off on Sunday, preliminary results showed, putting the pro-EU leader on track for a second term during which she has pledged to bring the country closer to joining the EU.

Sandu, who spoke of a historic choice for the former Soviet country of 2.5mn between a future within the EU and a retreat into the Russian fold, was leading against Alexandr Stoianoglo, an ex-prosecutor-general new to politics, with 53.89 per cent of the vote on Sunday evening after 97 per cent of polling stations had filed their results.

She cheered the outcome after the preliminary results came in and said Moldovans had “saved” their country after months of warnings that Russia was running an intense campaign to interfere in the electoral process and skew the result.

“Freedom, truth, and justice have prevailed,” Sandu said. “We have proven that, united, we can prevail over those who wanted to bring us to our knees.”

Speaking in both Romanian and Russian, which is widely used in Moldova, Sandu said she had heard her supporters and her critics and intended to “develop Moldova in peace and democracy, together with all Moldovans and for all Moldovans”.

The narrow win for Sandu comes after an uncertain result two weeks earlier, when the former World Bank economist failed to secure an outright victory in the first round, pushing the election into Sunday’s run-off.

A referendum called by Sandu for the same day on Moldova’s bid to join the EU was tighter, revealing a divided country with the “yes” camp winning but with just 50.35 per cent of the vote.

Sandu becomes the first president to be elected by the public to a second term. She has pledged to use it to introduce reforms necessary for accession to the EU, with the aim of joining by 2030. Moldova introduced the country’s bid for membership in 2022, shortly after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The EU has since welcomed the move and it opened accession talks last year. Last month, it also extended Moldova a €1.8bn multiyear package explicitly to facilitate the accession path.

The move has drawn Moscow’s ire, however, officials and analysts said. For months ahead of the vote Moldovan police warned of an “unprecedented” assault on the electoral process by Russia. Authorities accused Moscow of funnelling some $100mn into the country in an attempt to skew the results by building an elaborate network of proxies and using it to mass-distribute bribes.

“Moldova has been under an unprecedented attack in the history of all Europe — dirty money, illegal vote-buying, the interference in electoral processes by hostile forces from outside the country and by criminal groups, lies, sowing hatred, and fear within society,” Sandu said after the preliminary results showed she had won the race.

“Our people have united, and freedom and the citizens have won. Peace and hope for a better life have prevailed!”

On Friday, the Kremlin said it was closely monitoring the second round but reiterated that it strongly denied accusations of voting interference.

Though Stoianoglo’s candidacy was backed by the socialist party, known for its ties to Russia, Stoianoglo has stressed his independence. He criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and said he also supported European integration, but wanted Moldova to take a more neutral geopolitical path and maintain good relations with both Russia and the west.

He also drew support from voters unhappy with Sandu’s performance on the economy, which has been weighed down by the energy crisis and an influx of refugees across Moldova’s eastern border with Ukraine triggered by Russia’s invasion.

On Sunday night, with most of the results counted, Stoianoglo called for peace and unity, and said “democracy means maturity in the face of the result . . . I hope from today we end the hatred and division.”