LIVE TEXT Final results of the presidential elections in the Republic of Moldova. The counting of votes has ended. Maia Sandu wins a second mandate with 55.33% of the votes

UPDATE 14:50 The counting of votes has ended

All 2219 minutes, including those from the diaspora, were centralized.

Thus, according to the CEC, Maia Sandu obtained 55.33% of the votes, while her opponent, the socialist Alexandr Stoianoglo, obtained 44.67%.

In total, in the Republic of Moldova, Stoianoglo obtained 51.33%, and Maia Sandu 48.67%.

On the other hand, it was the diaspora that changed the situation, Maia Sandu being voted massively, with 82.83%.

UPDATE 10:20 CEC confirms the validity of the ballot

The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of the Republic of Moldova presented the situation of the second round of the presidential elections.

The last polling stations, in the US and in Canada, were closed this morning at 6:00. In total, 1,699,025 voters expressed their voting option, representing 54.31% of those included on the lists.

In order for the ballot to be validated, at least 20% of those with the right to vote must participate in it. Thus, with a presence of over 50%, the second round of the elections was validated.

A record number of voters – over 320,000 – was registered in the diaspora, and the most votes were registered at the polling stations in Moscow, Brescia (Italy), Bucharest, Padua (Italy) and Paris.

UPDATE Time 08:20: The counting of votes is nearing the end

After the centralization of 99.82% of the cast and valid votes, Maia Sandu obtained 55.4% of the votes, and Alexandr Stoianoglo 44.6%.

Broken down, in the Republic of Moldova, Alexandru Stoianoglo obtained 51.19%, and Maia Sandu 48.81%.

In the diaspora, where the counting of votes is nearing the end, Maia Sandu obtained overwhelming support, with 82.78% of voters voting for her.

UPDATE Maia Sandu wins a new mandate at the head of the Republic of Moldova

After 2173 minutes were processed, Maia Sandu wins the elections. She was voted by 883,921 voters (54.35%). Stoianoglo was voted by 742,451 voters (45.65%). The difference between the two candidates is more than 140 thousand votes and cannot be recovered with the votes to be counted, writes Ziarul de Gardă.

UPDATE Maia Sandu’s lead is increasing and the victory is now certain

Preliminary, official results from CEC:

95.54% minutes counted from the total

• Maia Sandu – 52.11%
• Alexandr Stoianoglo – 47.89%

The first message from Moscow after the elections in Moldova

“Maia Sandu lost the elections in the Republic of Moldova, but thanks to the diaspora she became the president of the Republic of Moldova”, wrote in the opening of the website Komsomolskaya Pravda md.

New data

• Maia Sandu – 51.12%
• Alexandr Stoianoglo – 48.88%

After processing 93.20% of the minutes, the difference between Maia Sandu and Stoianoglo increases.

• Maia Sandu: 50.45%
• Alexandr Stoianoglo: 49.55%

UPDATE Maia Sandu took over the leadership, after counting 92.4% of minutes, according to CEC

Preliminary, official results from the CEC: 92.11% minutes counted from the total

• Maia Sandu – 50.12%
• Alexandr Stoianoglo – 49.88%

22:55 The difference in votes between the two candidates is decreasing

Up to this moment, 2,015 minutes have been registered out of a total of 2,219.

Thus, after the centralization of 90.81% of the votes cast, Maia Sandu obtains 49.5%, and Stoianoglo 50.5%. The difference in votes between the two is approximately 12,000.

22:50 How was the vote in Transnistria and Gagauzia

Of the 26,136 votes registered in the Transnistria region – which has a strong pro-Russian orientation -, 79.4% were in favor of Stoianoglo. Maia Sandu obtained 20.6% of the votes cast by voters.

Also, in Gagauzia, another region with sympathies for Russia, Maia Sandu was defeated by her opponent, who obtained 97% of the votes.

10:30 p.m. Districts where vote counting has ended: Stoianoglo leads

In the districts of Briceni, Ocniţa, Drochia, Soroca, Floreşti, Făleşti, Dubăsari, Soldăneşti and Basarabeasca, the socialist Alexandr Stoianoglo obtained over 50% of the votes, defeating Maia Sandu.

On the other hand, the current president of the country won in Ungheni, Teleneşti, Leova, Hincesti and Criuleni districts, according to data centralized in real time by CEC.

1940 minutes out of 2219 were recorded.

The situation is as follows:

Maia Sandu – 48.89%

Alexandr Stoianoglo – 51.15%

10:10 p.m. The preliminary results of the presidential elections in the Republic of Moldova, the second round

The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of the Republic of Moldova announced the first results of the second round of the presidential elections.

Up to this moment, 1765 minutes have been counted out of a total of 2219, i.e. 78.59% of the minutes counted.

Maia Sandu gets 48.10%, and Alexandr Stoianoglo – 51.90%.

The first results from the diaspora

According to the Moldovan publication Ziarul de Gardă, which cites sources, the first results from the polling stations in China, Japan, India and the United Arab Emirates show that Maia Sandu was voted by the majority of those who went to the polls.

On the other hand, in Azerbaijan, where several Moldovan citizens from Russia voted after being transported organized by charters, Alexandr Stoianoglo emerged victorious.

In India, 12 citizens expressed their choice, and the acting president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, obtained all the votes. In this sense, Alexandr Stoianoglo did not get any vote.

The voting turnout in the second round of the presidential elections in the Republic of Moldova was, at 9:00 p.m. – when the polls closed – of 54.08%. Voting continues, however, in the diaspora.

Real-time information on the second round of the elections in the Republic of Moldova can be followed HERE.