CEC: Maia Sandu leads with 55.41% in the elections, the diaspora sets a new participation record
The Republic of Moldova has decided! Maia Sandu wins the second term as president with 55.41% of the votes, according to preliminary data presented by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). Following the totalization of the minutes from the classic polling stations in the country and abroad, Alexandr Stoianoglo scored 44.59% of the votes.
During a press conference, Angelica Caraman, the president of the CEC, announced that 99.86% of the minutes have already been recorded, and the final results will also include postal votes. "Thus, on behalf of the Central Electoral Commission, we convey the message of gratitude to our voters who mobilized in such large numbers to exercise their right to vote," said Caraman.
Record of participation in the diaspora
This election recorded a record participation in the diaspora. 328,855 Moldovans voted at polling stations open abroad. The most active polling stations were in Moscow, where 4,999 people voted in each of the two polling stations, followed by Brescia (Italy) with 4,463 votes, Bucharest (Romania) with 4,433 and Padua (Italy) with 4,289 votes. Other polling stations with high voter turnout were in Paris, Venice, Verona and Vicenza.
Incidents and irregularities documented on day of election
For the first time in the elections, hoax bomb alerts were reported in several polling stations abroad, but also on the Rîbnița-Rezina bridge. Caraman said that, despite these incidents, the voting process took place freely and without major incidents. However, the General Police Inspectorate documented 225 incidents, including:
76 cases of photographing ballot papers; 30 cases of prohibited campaigning; 26 suspicions of vote-buying; 24 cases of organized transportation of voters; 9 cases of violation of the right to vote; 8 cases of damage to ballot papers; 7 cases of unauthorized electoral display. Also, a stamp was damaged in Călărași, and voting stamps were lost in Bălți and Anenii Noi.
Next steps: validation of results
Angelica Caraman explained that the CEC has 48 hours to receive the minutes from the constituency electoral councils and another five days to draw up the final minutes of the elections. The documents will later be presented to the Constitutional Court for validation.
"The electoral code stipulates that the candidate who scored the highest number of votes in the second round of voting is declared elected," said Caraman, noting that all information is preliminary for the time being.
