'Pro-Europe' Moldova Current President Maia Sandu Re-elected

The current president, a pro-European candidate, won the final round of the Moldovan presidential election, the Associated Press reported.

Moldova's Central Election Commission announced on the 4th that current President Maia Sandu won re-election with 55.41 percent of the vote based on 99.86 percent of the vote counted.

Former Attorney General Alexander Stoyanoglo, backed by a pro-Russian party, won only 44.59 percent of the vote.

More than 1.68 million voters participated in the runoff, with turnout of about 54%.

Sandu came in first in the first round of the presidential election on the 20th of last month with 42.45% of the vote, but failed to win a majority and faced second-place Stoyanoglo in the runoff election.

Moldova is a small Eastern European country, but the presidential election drew attention from the international community as it unfolded as a pro-Europe and pro-Russia confrontation.

Concerned that Moldova could be in the same boat as Ukraine in Russia's "special military operation" on Ukraine, Sandu applied for EU membership in February 2022 and was granted the status of a candidate in June that year.

Negotiations on EU membership began in June this year.

As President Sandu succeeded in extending his regime, Moldova's accession to the EU is expected to be carried out without wavering.