With nearly 99 per cent of votes counted in the second round of the presidential election held on Sunday, Sandu had 54.7 per cent of the vote, according to the Central Electoral Commission, compared to 45.3 per cent for Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor general who was backed by the pro-Russia Party of Socialists.
The result will be a major relief for the pro-Western government, which strongly backed Sandu's candidacy and her push for closer Western ties on Moldova's path toward the EU.
Alexandr Stoianoglo was backed by the pro-Russia Party of Socialists. (AP PHOTO)
"Moldova, you are victorious! Today, dear Moldovans, you have given a lesson in democracy, worthy of being written in history books.
"Today, you have saved Moldova! In our choice for a dignified future, no one lost," Sandu said after claiming victory after midnight.
But she went on to claim that her country's vote had faced an "unprecedented attack" through alleged schemes including dirty money, vote-buying, and electoral interference "by hostile forces from outside the country" and criminal groups.
"You have shown that nothing can stand in the way of the people's power when they choose to speak through their vote," she added.
Moldova's large diaspora, which cast ballots in record numbers of more than 325,000, voted heavily in favour of Sandu.
In the first round held October 20, Sandu obtained 42 per cent of the ballot but failed to win an outright majority over the second place Stoianoglo.
Moldova's diaspora played a key role in the presidential vote and in a nationwide referendum held on October 20, when a narrow majority of 50.35 per cent voted to secure Moldova's path toward EU membership.
But the results of the ballots including Sunday's vote have been overshadowed by allegations of a major vote-buying scheme and voter intimidation.
Moldovan police said they had "reasonable evidence" of organised transportation of voters — illegal under the country's electoral code — to polling stations from within the country and from overseas, and are "investigating and registering evidence in connection with air transport activities from Russia to Belarus, Azerbaijan and Turkey".
Moldova's foreign ministry said polling stations in Frankfurt, Germany, and Liverpool and Northampton in the UK had been targeted by false bomb threats, which "intended only to stop the voting process".
Stanislav Secrieru, the president's national security adviser, wrote on X: "We are seeing massive interference by Russia in our electoral process".
We're seeing massive interference by Russia in our electoral process as Moldovans vote in the presidential runoff today—an effort with high potential to distort the outcome. Authorities are on high alert. Thread with instances of meddling, which I'll be updating in real time ⬇️— Stanislav Secrieru (@StasSecrieru) November 3, 2024
Secrieru later added that the national voter record systems were being targeted by "ongoing co-ordinated cyberattacks" to disrupt links between domestic polling stations and those abroad, and that cybersecurity teams were "working to counter these threats and ensure system continuity".
Moldova's Prime Minister Dorin Recean said that people throughout the country had received "anonymous death threats via phone calls" in what he called "an extreme attack" to scare voters in the former Soviet republic.
with dpa
