Pro-Western candidate wins Moldovan presidential election
Maia Sandu, a former World Bank economist who favors closer ties with the European Union, won presidential runoff elections in Moldova, decisively defeating the staunchly pro-Russian incumbent
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Maia Sandu a former World Bank economist who favors closer ties with the European Union, has won Moldova's presidential runoff vote, decisively defeating the staunchly pro-Russian incumbent, according to preliminary results released Monday.
Sandu captured over 57% of the vote, leaving the incumbent, Igor Dodon behind by over 15 points, according to preliminary data from the Central Election Commission, CEC, that said nearly 100% of the vote has been counted.
“Preliminary results indicate that my opponent Maia Sandu is the winner, and I want to preliminary congratulate her,” Dodon said after the results were published. “I call for calm and peace, absolutely no disturbances or protests, we must not allow any destabilization of the country."
Sunday's election was seen as a referendum on two divergent visions for the future of the small Eastern European nation sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania.
The current pro-Russian government controls only 51 of 101 seats in the parliament and the new president can dissolve parliament if the prime minister resigns and there are two failed attempts to find a successor.
Sandu and Dodon, who Russian President Vladimir Putin identified as his preferred candidate have been rivals since he narrowly defeated her in the 2016 presidential race.