Presidential elections in Moldova: Date of second round announced
President of Moldova Maia Sandu (Getty Images)
The second round of presidential elections in Moldova will take place in two weeks, with voting scheduled for Sunday, November 3, according to Angelica Caraman, the head of Moldova's Central Election Commission.
Incumbent President Maia Sandu and Alexandr Stoianoglo will compete for the presidency in the second round. This was confirmed after processing 98.51% of protocols from polling stations.
According to preliminary data released by the Central Election Commission, neither candidate garnered the necessary number of votes to win in the first round.
Sandu emerged as the leader of the first round, receiving support from 640,881 voters, or 42.07% of the total votes cast. Stoianoglo, the former prosecutor general, followed in second place with 400,208 votes, equivalent to 26.27%.
The Central Election Commission reported that Sandu leads Stoianoglo by a significant margin of 240,673 votes. However, the results of the first round do not allow her to secure an outright victory, as over 50% of the votes were required for that.
In third place was Renato Usatii, leader of the Our Party, who received 13.72% of the votes (209,011 voters). The other candidates trailed significantly behind the leaders and did not achieve a notable percentage of the votes.
Elections and referendum in Moldova
On October 20, presidential elections and a referendum on the country's accession to the European Union were held in Moldova.
Earlier, Moldovan authorities reported that Russia allocated about 100 million euros aimed at undermining the election and referendum process. Attempts at external interference were directed at destabilizing the political situation in the country.
Details on possible scenarios following the elections and the risks of a pro-Russian backlash can be found in the RBC-Ukraine article.
According to the American Institute for the Study of War, pro-Russian forces in Moldova may soon organize protests in response to the results of the elections and the referendum.
