Sandu leads Moldova’s presidential runoff with 52% of vote Preliminary results show

Incumbent President Maia Sandu has emerged in the lead against her opponent in Moldova's presidential runoff, according to preliminary results released by the country's electoral authority late on November 3.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Moldova reports that Sandu has secured just over 52% of the votes, while Alexandr Stoianoglo, the former prosecutor general, has garnered nearly 48%, with more than 95% of ballots counted, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

All polling stations in Moldova have now reported their results, and the vote from the diaspora, which is largely seen as supportive of Sandu, is expected to play a crucial role in determining the election's final outcome.

Initially, the CEC indicated that Stoianoglo had received more than 51% of the votes, while Sandu had just over 48% after approximately 86% of the ballots had been counted.

Voting in the runoff began at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and concluded at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT), with a total of 2,219 polling stations set up, including 231 located abroad across 37 countries.

The CEC stated that nearly 1.7 million citizens cast their votes, representing just over 54% of the electorate.

The final results are expected to be announced at a news briefing scheduled for November 4 at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT).

This runoff follows an initial voting round held two weeks ago, in which Sandu, perceived as pro-Western, failed to achieve the 50% threshold required for re-election.

Turnout for the election was reported at over 1.68 million people, representing approximately 54% of eligible voters, according to the CEC.

Notably, Moldova's extensive diaspora participated in record numbers, with more than 325,000 casting their votes—predominantly in favour of Sandu.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen extended her congratulations to Sandu on her victory, remarking on X: “It takes a rare kind of strength to overcome the challenges you’ve faced in this election.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev