Moldovans were voting Sunday to choose between pro-Moscow and pro-European candidates in a runoff vote for the next president of the impoverished ex-Soviet country. It marks the first time in 16 years that Moldova - wracked by corruption scandals in recent years - is electing its leader by national vote instead of having parliament select the head of state.
Wedged between Ukraine and Romania, the tiny nation is caught in a political tug-of-war between Russia and the West. By 1200 GMT on Sunday, around 34 percent of the electorate had voted, according to the central electoral commission. There is no minimum threshold for the vote to be valid.
Elections chief Alina Russu told a news conference "no incidents or serious violations have been reported". In the first round of voting on October 30, Igor Dodon, the pro-Moscow head of the Socialist Party, came out on top with 48 percent, followed by pro-European Maia Sandu, a centre-right former education minister who worked for the World Bank, with 38 percent.
The two runoff candidates have diametrically opposed visions for Moldova's future.
Moldova signed an historic EU association agreement in 2014 despite bitter opposition from Russia, which has responded with an embargo targeting its key agriculture sector.
Dodon - who served as economy minister under a communist government between 2006 and 2009 - is calling for deeper ties and boosting trade with Moscow. Speaking at a polling station on Sunday, he said: "I'm sure we'll win victory with a good margin," describing his campaign as "against the oligarchs, against those who have robbed our country and want to destroy it". Vasilii Blindu, a 70-year-old pensioner who voted in the northern town of Balti, said: "I and all my friends voted for Igor Dodon since he promises to restore strategic partnership with Russia." Sandu, on the other hand, is urging a path towards Europe.
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