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News Analysis: East or West, Moldova ahead of presidential runoff

Xinhua, November 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

The first round of presidential elections in Moldova ended as expected: the pro-Russian Socialist Party's Igor Dodon will compete in the Nov. 13 runoff against pro-Western Action and Solidarity's candidate Maia Sandu.

The Central Electoral Commission on Wednesday released the final results of the first round. The balance of power between the two main competitors is 47.98 to 38.71 percent, with Sandu at nearly 10 percent fewer votes.

Moldova held direct presidential elections on Sunday, in a change from the past 16 years, during which the head of state was indirectly elected by the parliament.

Nine candidates, including three independent ones, competed for the state's top position.

Under the country's constitution, to be elected as president, a candidate must win an absolute majority (50 percent, plus one vote) of the electoral votes; otherwise the two candidates with the most votes proceed to a runoff.

The presidential elections are generally viewed in the country as a battle between pro-Russian and pro-EU camps.

Sandu has said she would deepen ties with the European Union and would work toward meeting the EU's accession conditions.

Dodon, who has previously pledged to repeal the EU-Moldova Association Agreement and join the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union, softened his tone after the first round, saying he would be a good president for supporters of both Russia and the EU.

Local political analyst, and former deputy foreign minister Valeriu Ostalep, considers both of the candidates to be making a mistake when they focus on geopolitical messages.

These elections were perpetuating an artificially-created dilemma -- the confrontation between the East and the West, Ostalep was quoted as saying by local IPN news agency, adding that "no matter how hard he tries, Igor Dodon cannot join us to Russia, while Maia Sandu cannot join us to the European Union."

Moldova, a country landlocked between Romania and Ukraine, is still shrouded in the shadow of a corruption scandal in which a total of 1 billion U.S. dollars, or around 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product, disappeared from its banking system.

The scandal sparked large-scale protests last year, eroded the confidence in pro-European politicians and has partially contributed to the Socialists' gain in popularity. Endit