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CHISINAU – Moldova's pro-Western incumbent President Maia Sandu has defeated Russia-friendly challenger Alexandr Stoianoglo in balloting marred by accusations of Russian interference and voter fraud.

With 99.7 percent of ballots counted in the November 3 runoff vote, the Central Election Commission said Sandu had 55.35 percent of the vote to Stoianoglo’s 44.65 percent, a lead of almost 165,000 votes in preliminary results.

"Moldova, you are victorious!" a jubilant Sandu, who was boosted by votes in the capital, Chisinau, and from diaspora votes, said shortly after midnight.

"Today, dear Moldovans, you have given a lesson in democracy, worthy of being written in history books. Today, you have saved Moldova! In our choice for a dignified future, no one lost," she added.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the result in a message on X.

"Congratulations, dear Maia Sandu, on your victory tonight. It takes a rare kind of strength to overcome the challenges you’ve faced in this election," von der Leyen wrote. "I’m glad to continue working with you towards a European future for Moldova and its people."

Stoianoglo, who has not conceded, called on his supporters to keep calm.

"Democracy means, above all, maturity in facing the result," he said.

Stoianoglo had held the early lead, but it continued to narrow as votes were being counted from the large cities, and from Moldova's Western diaspora.

The Central Election Commission reported that turnout surpassed 54 percent, stronger than in the first round and also higher than in the 2020 presidential runoff.

Sandu won the first round on October 20 with 42 percent of the vote compared to 26 percent for Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor-general who received backing from the pro-Russia Socialist Party of Moldova.

In comments to reporters after casting her ballot at a Chisinau polling station, Sandu said she voted "with Moldova."

"Thieves want to buy our vote, they want to buy our country, but the power of the people is infinitely greater than any of their malice," she said. "The power of Moldova is in each of you, go out to vote with faith and hope. Heads up, Moldovans!"

As Sandu was declaring victory, Stoianoglo called for calm, saying "democracy means, first of all, maturity in the face of the result."

The vote came amid accusations of Russian meddling in both the presidential race and a referendum on Moldova’s potential further integration with the European Union -- a direction Sandu and her supporters strongly back.

The pro-EU side scored a razor-thin victory in the referendum -- the "yes" vote getting 50.38 percent – but Sandu quickly alleged that “criminal groups together with foreign forces" tried to "buy 300,000 votes,” making the final result significantly closer than pre-vote polls had indicated.

Surveys also indicated that Sandu would take an easy victory in the first round of the presidential election, but Stoianoglo surprised with a better-than-expected total, forcing the runoff vote.

Sandu's national-security adviser posted a statement to X, claiming "massive interference" by Russia in the runoff vote.

"An effort with high potential to distort the outcome," Stanislav Secrieru said in his post. He gave no details.

Moldova has 3.02 million registered voters, including those in the diaspora. Voters in the West were credited with helping the "yes" side eke out the narrow victory in the EU referendum and helped Sandu in the runoff election.

According to the CEC, foreign voting went to Sandu by a large margin, with the incumbent winning 81 percent to 19 percent over the challenger.

Votes in Chisinau also went to Sandu by a 57-43 percent margin.

While the position of president is technically a ceremonial position in Moldova, holders of the office often wield considerable political influence. A president may serve for two consecutive four-year terms.

During Sandu's first term, Moldova firmly aligned with Ukraine after Russia's unprovoked invasion in 2022, and joined the EU sanctions regime.

Moldova secured EU candidate status in 2022 and opened accession talks earlier this year.

Scattered irregularities were reported during the early voting hours on November 3, including incidents of purported photographing of ballots -- which voters in the past have used to prove their choice in potential vote-buying cases.

Angelica Caraman, head of the election commission, said that as of 4 p.m., 18 cases of alleged electoral corruption had been officially reported, while police authorities said they had registered at least 126 complaints of electoral violations.

Authorities reported that outside the country, voters were being transported in large groups to two polling stations in Moscow as well as polling stations in the Belarusian capital, Minsk; Baku, Azerbaijan; and Istanbul, Turkey, including by airplane. Moldovan voters in those countries are known to typically support pro-Russian groups.

Election officials called on citizens to report any attempts to transport voters to polling stations in an organized manner. Similar violations were flagged by independent observers from Promo-Lex, a democracy watchdog.

There were also reports of apparently fake bomb threats called into polling stations in Moldova and in several countries, including in Britain, Germany, and Romania.

Sandu, 52, is a Harvard graduate and former employee at the World Bank. She became Moldova's first female president with a landslide victory in 2020, running on a strong pro-EU message and vows to fight corruption.

But her support may have slipped during her first term amid an economy that was ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic and rising tensions with Russia.

Throughout her presidency, Sandu has been criticized by pro-Kremlin political parties who have accused her of stoking conflict with Moscow.

Stoianoglo, 57, from Gagauzia -- a Turkic-speaking autonomous region of Moldova with pro-Russia sentiment -- was Moldova's prosecutor-general between 2019 and 2021. He campaigned on a law-and-order theme, although critics have slammed him for what they say was a failure to address high-level corruption during his time in office.

Stoianoglo has claimed he holds no political affiliation and has rejected accusations that he is "Moscow's man."

His reaction to the war in Ukraine has been ambiguous -- expressing a "negative attitude" toward the conflict but not directly condemning Russia for the invasion.

Although he has often taken anti-EU stances, he is also a Romanian -- and thus EU -- citizen, and his daughter reportedly works at the European Central Bank.

After media reports revealed that he possessed a Romanian passport, he argued that he obtained it in 2019 in an "apolitical context," without elaborating.

Most of Moldova was part of Romania until the end of World War II and many Moldovans also hold Romanian citizenship, which gives them the opportunity to travel freely to the EU and work there.

Moldova is one of Europe's poorest countries with a sizable Russian minority and a Moscow-backed separatist region, Transdniester, located on the left bank of the Dniester River.