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Preliminary results show that after calculating 99 percent. opposition candidate M. Sandu received 56 percent. The current pro-Russian president, Igor Dodon, got 43 percent of the vote.
Final results are expected on Monday.
Sandu, leader of the Action and Solidarity party, has vowed to fight corruption in Moldova and unite the country, and also advocates closer ties with the European Union (EU).
“We need the state to work for the citizens, not for thieves and corrupt officials,” he said.
Moldova, a small former Soviet republic in Eastern Europe nestled between Ukraine and Romania, a member of the EU, has long been fragmented by the desire for closer integration into the EU and loyalty to Moscow.
Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe, having suffered one crisis after another since 2014. Mr. Sandu presented further integration into the EU as a way out of the economic crisis.
Dodon and Sandu also ran in the second round of the 2016 presidential election, but then Dodon won the election.
During Dodon’s first term, Sandu served as prime minister for several months, but was removed after a vote of no confidence.
Sandu, who won the election, is expected to seek early parliamentary elections to strengthen power, as the parliament is now controlled by the socialists, the former Dodon party.
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