Moldova's presidential election will be decided in a run-off between an admirer of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and a former World Bank economist who vows to crush corruption and accelerate the country's integration with the West.
With almost all ballots counted, pro-Moscow candidate Igor Dodon had 48.3 per cent of votes cast in Sunday's election, well clear of Maia Sandu's 38.4 per cent but short of the majority he needed to seal victory in the first round.
None of the other seven candidates figured strongly in an election with a turnout of only 49 per cent, a factor that analysts say helped Mr Dodon and reflects widespread disillusionment in Moldova with the entire political class.
Wedged between Romania and Ukraine, 3.5-million-strong Moldova is considered to be Europe's poorest country, and its economy was battered further by the still-unsolved disappearance in 2014 of $1 billion from its banking system.
The scandal outraged Moldovans who earn an average of about €220 per month, or emigrate in search of work in the EU and Russia, while a tiny elite of business people and politicians lives in conspicuous luxury.
Graft and cronyism
Mr Dodon has pledged to repair relations with Russia that have suffered in recent years, under a series of Moldovan governments that have propounded “European values” while doing little or nothing to halt rampant graft and cronyism.
The failure of these “pro-EU” governments, including the current one, has turned many Moldovans against the idea of integration with the West, and boosted the popularity of Mr Dodon and others who say Moscow must be the nation’s main partner.
He urged other pro-Russian political leaders to “put aside personal ambitions” and back him in the second round on November 13th.
"I'm sure Maia Sandu will lose in the second round. You can prepare for it, but it won't help you. If we get the support of a few partners on the political left, then we'll win by 60 per cent to 40 per cent. If not, then we'll win anyway with 52-53 per cent," Moldovan news website Newsmaker quoted Mr Dodon as saying.
Ms Sandu, an economist and former education minister with a reputation for probity, has called for a massive turnout on November 13th of Moldovans who see their future in Europe.
“We should not be afraid, we must prove to the thieves and corrupt (officials) that there are more of us,” she said. “Together we must bring order to Moldova.”
