The second round of presidential elections has started in Moldova

On November 3, Moldovan citizens are taking part in the second round of the presidential election, which pits incumbent President Maia Sandu against former Prosecutor General Alexandru Stoianoglo.

Polling stations will be open until 21:00, and Moldovans living abroad can vote in 37 countries, where 234 polling stations have been opened.

Maia Sandu entered Moldovan politics in 2012, having previously worked as an advisor to the World Bank's executive director and lived in Washington, DC. She served as Minister of Education for two years, headed the Moldovan government for almost six months in 2019, and won the presidential election in 2020, beating pro-Russian President Igor Dodon in the second round. Sandu's reputation as a pro-Western politician has only strengthened after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Alexandru Stoianoglo has worked his way up from an assistant prosecutor in Chisinau to the founder and first head of the Gagauz prosecutor's office, and then to the Deputy Prosecutor General of Moldova, was a member of the Moldovan parliament for two convocations, and even served as deputy speaker in 2009-2010. In addition, he twice ran for the position of bashkan (head) of Gagauzia, both times without success.

In the first round of elections, 42.49% of voters who came to the polls voted for Maia Sandu, and 25.95% for Alexandru Stoianoglo. The turnout in the first round of the presidential election exceeded 51.4%, or more than 1 million 560 thousand votes.

Meanwhile, DW reported that the Moldovan special services asked the German authorities to protect Moldovan citizens who will vote in Germany on November 3 in the second round of the presidential election from possible Russian interference.

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 residents of Transnistria are in danger due to Moldova's alleged refusal to engage in a settlement process in the region.

Кирило Бойко