Sandu Wins First Round as Moldova Heads to Second Round of Presidential Elections

So far, the Central Election Commission has counted 98.51% of the votes. Maia Sandu has the support of 42.07% of voters (640 881 voters), while 26.27% (400 208 voters) voted for Alexandr Stoianoglo. A total of 11 candidates participated in the first round of elections.

On the day of the presidential elections, a referendum on Moldova's accession to the European Union was also held. According to preliminary data, 50.16% of voters (735 834 voters) voted in favor of European integration, while 49.84% (731 123 voters) answered "No" to the referendum question, "Do you support the amendment of the Constitution for the purpose of joining the Republic of Moldova to the European Union?"

"Moldova has faced an unprecedented assault on our country’s freedom and democracy," said Maia Sandu in Chisinau, commenting on the preliminary results of the referendum. She accused "criminal groups working with foreign forces hostile to national interests" of intervening.

"We have clear evidence that these criminal groups aimed to buy 300 000 votes – a fraud of unprecedented scale. Their objective was to undermine a democratic process. Their intention is to spread fear and panic in the society. We will not back down from defending democracy and freedom. We are waiting for the final results and will respond with a firm decision," Sandu stated.

The turnout for the elections and referendum exceeded 51% in total, meaning that more than one and a half million citizens of the republic participated. Voters cast their ballots in 2219 polling stations, of which 1988 were located in the territory of the Republic of Moldova and 231 were set up outside the country in 37 different countries.