Moldova’s pro-EU President Maia Sandu has claimed a second term after a tense election run-off seen as a choice between Europe and Russia, the BBC reports.
With most votes counted Sandu had won 55%, and in a late-night speech she promised to be president for all Moldovans.
Her rival Alexandr Stoianoglo, who was backed by the pro-Russian Party of Socialists, had called for a closer relationship with Moscow.
During the day the president’s national security adviser said there had been “massive interference” from Russia in Moldova’s electoral process that had “high potential to distort the outcome.”
Stoianoglo, who was fired as prosecutor general by Sandu, has denied being pro-Kremlin.
As polls closed, both Maia Sandu, 52, and her rival thanked voters, with Stoianoglo speaking in Russian as well as Romanian. Although Romanian is Moldova’s main language, Russian is widely spoken because of its Soviet past.
