Sandu vs Stoianoglo: Moldova goes to the second round of presidential elections
21 October 2024 10:01
After the Central Election Commission processed 98% of the protocols, incumbent President of Moldova Maia Sandu gained 41.33%, while the candidate from the pro-Russian Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova, Alexandru Stoianoglo, received 26.36%. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the BBC.
According to the BBC, none of the candidates gained more than 50%. Thus, Sandu and Stoianoglo will compete for the presidency in the second round, which will take place on 3 November.
In total, about 1.5 million Moldovan citizens voted in the election, with over 500,000 voters casting their ballots for Sandu.
Along with the presidential election, voters were asked to answer questions about their attitude to the country’s course of integration into the European Union being spelled out in the preamble to its Constitution, and to the future accession of Moldova to the main EU treaties being carried out by a vote of the majority of the constitutional composition of the parliament.
According to the Moldovan Central Election Commission, the number of supporters and opponents of Moldova’s accession to the European Union has equalised. As of 6:10 a.m. (local time), 50% (721,760 people) support European integration, while the other 50% (721,672 people) are against it.
97.66% of protocols have been processed: 2167 out of 2219.
At the same time, the gap between conditional opponents of EU integration and its supporters was rapidly shrinking throughout the night, according to the last 10% of protocols. In 92% of the protocols, it was about five percentage points, in 95% it was less than three, and in 97% it was only 0.7 percentage points.
Most likely, this is due to the fact that the latest protocols came from foreign polling stations, and Moldovan citizens living abroad, primarily in Europe, support the country’s movement towards a united Europe.
Polls prior to the referendum showed that a clear majority of respondents supported European integration, so if the constitutional amendment fails, it will come as an unpleasant surprise to Sandu and her supporters.
For the referendum to be recognised as valid, at least a third of registered voters had to participate. As a result, the turnout exceeded 51%.
