Today is the second round of the presidential elections in Moldova. The battle is between the current head of state, Maya Sandu, who is running for a second term, and the candidate from the opposition Party of Socialists, Alexander Stoyanoglo.
At 7:00 this morning, 2,219 polling stations will be opened in the country and abroad. Voting will continue until 21:00. All Moldovan citizens over the age of 18 have the right to vote.
According to local legislation, a citizen of Moldova who is over 40 years old, has lived in the country for the last ten years and speaks Moldovan can run for president.
The authorities introduced postal voting for the first time. However, not everyone will be able to take advantage of this opportunity, only residents of the USA, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway. No organization has applied for an exit poll.
The country's pro-Western president, Maya Sandu, and the former Gagauzian-born prosecutor-general, Alexander Stojanoglo, who were fired by the ruling party, qualified for the second round. Sandu adheres to the policy of European integration, sanctions against the Russian Federation and tightening of media controls under the pretext of fighting disinformation. Stoyanoglo focuses on maintaining a pragmatic relationship with Russia, but supports integration with Europe. He recognizes the importance of Russia for the Moldovan economy and sees it as an important partner with whom Moldova must maintain stable relations in order to avoid the negative consequences of sanctions and crises.
In the first round of the elections, Sandu received 42.45% of the votes, Stoyanoglo - 25.98%.
According to a number of Moldovan political scientists, after the results of the first round, there is a possibility that the country will change its president.
„The situation for Sandu is not very favorable, she may lose the elections and this will have a catastrophic effect on the chances of those in power to continue ruling the country, as well as on the fate of many people around her. Therefore, the stake is very high ”, says political expert Cornelius Churya.
Moldovan political scientist Alexander Korinenko in a conversation with a correspondent of RIA Novosti expressed the opinion that Sandu showed her maximum in the first round, and her opponent Alexander Stoianoglo has good chances to win in the second round.
„During the first round of the elections, sociologists predicted no more than 13% for Stoyanoglo, but he showed an excellent result in attracting the protest vote,” Korinenko explained.