Second round of presidential election kicks off in Moldova Sandu and Stoianoglo Compete

The second round of the presidential election in Moldova began on November 3, with incumbent President Maia Sandu and former Prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo competing for the presidency.

Stoianoglo has criticized Moldova's policy of escalating relations with Russia, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

In the first round of voting on October 20, Sandu received 42.49% of the votes, while Stoianoglo garnered 25.95%. According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), 2,219 polling stations will be open for the election, including 1,988 within the country itself, and 30 stations for Moldovan citizens residing on the left bank of the Dniester.

Meanwhile, only two polling stations are open in Russia for the election, both located at the Moldovan embassy. According to the agency, a line of voters wishing to participate in the second round gathered outside the Moldovan embassy in Moscow in the early morning of November 3.

Earlier, the Constitutional Court of Moldova validated the results of a referendum on the country's membership in the European Union (EU), which was held on the same day as the first round of the presidential election.

On October 21, the Central Election Commission of Moldova completed the processing of 100% of the ballots from the EU membership referendum. The state body announced that 50.46% of citizens supported the course for joining the regional union, while 49.54% voted against it.

By Khagan Isayev