Moldovan presidential elections: 4,999 out of 5,000 voters voted at two polling stations in Russia

Almost 10,000 representatives of the Moldovan diaspora in Russia had voted at the two polling stations in Moscow (5,000 at each) that were opened for them to be able to vote in the presidential election in Moldova.

According to Newsmaker, Moldova’s Central Election Commission (CEC) reports that their diaspora in Russia was one of the most active ones. In particular, 4999 citizens voted at each of the two polling stations in Moscow, and each station had 5,000 ballots. 

The Moldovaʼs CEC did not specify what happened to the other two ballots – whether they were not used or spoilt.

Overall, the presence in the elections abroad set a record. More than 328,855 people voted in the second round of the presidential election, including those who voted by post. 

High activity was also recorded at polling stations in Italy, France and Romania.

In this election, only two polling stations were opened in Russia at the insistence of the Moldovan Foreign Ministry. Both polling stations were opened in the centre of Moscow, in the premises of the embassy and consulate. Since not enough people were willing to vote in the centre of the Russian capital, Moldovans were brought from other Russian cities, promising to legalise their stay in the country.

Those who wished to vote were also provided with tickets to Minsk, Baku and Istanbul, cities accessible from Russia, where they could also vote for a pro-Russian candidate.

The incumbent President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, was re-elected for a second term with a margin of over ten percentage points over her opponent, the pro-Russian Socialist candidate Alexandr Stoianoglo.

She won mainly due to solid support from the diaspora. The vote count inside Moldova confirmed that Stoianoglo would have won had the foreign voters not been counted.