CHISINAU: Moldovans voted on Sunday in the second round of a tightly contested presidential election pitting a pro-European challenger against the country’s Moscow-backed incumbent.
The tiny ex-Soviet nation is under the watchful eye of Russia, which wants polarised Moldova to remain in its sphere of influence at a time when several Kremlin-aligned governments are rocked by political unrest.
In the first round vote earlier this month, pro-European Maia Sandu — a 48-year-old centre-right politician — won a surprise victory.
Sandu, who worked for the World Bank and briefly served as prime minister, won more than 36 per cent of the vote against pro-Russian incumbent Igor Dodon’s 33 per cent.
“Today, you have the power to punish those who robbed you, who reduced you to misery and forced you to leave your home,” Sandu said after voting in the capital Chisinau on Sunday, in a clear allusion to her rival who has been targeted by accusations of corruption.
The appeal has resonance in one of Europe’s poorest countries where as many as 40 per cent of citizens are estimated to have travelled abroad to work. — AFP
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