The incumbent president of Moldova failed to win the first round of elections

The current President of Moldova, Maia Sandu , did not win the first round of elections with 41.8% of the vote.

Her rival in the second round of elections will be former Prosecutor General and candidate of the pro-Russian Party of Socialists, Alexandru Stoianoglo, who received 26.4% of the vote in the first round.

Moldovan President and re-election candidate Maia Sandu invited Alexandru Stoianoglo, who came in second in the first round, to a pre-election debate.

The turnout in the presidential election exceeded 51.4 percent, or more than 1 million 560 thousand votes. On October 20, eligible Moldovan citizens elected the country's president for the next four-year term. At the same time, citizens were encouraged to participate in a constitutional referendum to express their choice on the country's accession to the European Union.

According to the results of the referendum, almost 99% of the votes were counted, and 50.2% of citizens voted in favor of joining the EU.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the EU External Action Service, Peter Stano, said that Russia's interference in the electoral process in Moldova was unprecedented and took many forms.

In February, the Moldovan authorities reported that they did not intend to authorize the opening of polling stations for the Russian presidential election in the Transnistrian region. In particular, this was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, Mihai Popschiu.

Russia has sent a request to the Republic of Moldova to open polling stations for the presidential elections scheduled for March 15-17, 2024.

Earlier, experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believe that Russia may try to justify its aggression or destabilization efforts in Moldova by claiming that the residents of Transnistria are in danger due to Moldova's alleged refusal to engage in a settlement process in the region.

Earlier, ISW stated that the Kremlin is likely creating information conditions to justify future Russian aggression in Moldova under the guise of protecting its "countrymen abroad" and the "Russian world" - concepts that are deliberately based on vague definitions of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers in foreign countries.

Кирило Бойко