Moscow, Nov 3 (EFE).- Polling stations in Moldova were open Sunday for the second round of presidential elections pitting the pro-European incumbent head of state Maia Sandu against opposition leader Alexandr Stoianoglo, who favors closer ties with Russia.
Nearly 2,000 polling centers across the country opened at 7am local time and will stay open until 9pm.
Including Moldovans living abroad, just over 3 million citizens have been called to vote.
Turnout is expected to surpass the 51.74% participation in the first round.
Sandu, 52, is seen as the favorite after the results of the first round two weeks ago, in which she won 42.49% of the vote, far ahead of Stoianoglo’s 25.95%.
But pre-election surveys expect a tight race, despite Sandu’s considerable first round advantage.
Stoianoglo, 57, the Socialist Party’s candidate, has said he supports Moldova’s integration into the European Union, but unlike Sandu’s government, he is against breaking off relations with Russia
The electoral campaign was amid an exchange of harsh accusations between the ruling party and the opposition.
While Sandu’s supporters accuse Russia of interfering in the election, her detractors have leveled the same accusations at the United States and the EU, as well as denouncing the alleged persecution of the opposition and the closing of its media.
After the first round, the Moldovan president denounced the purchase of 300,000 votes, around 10% of the electoral roll and almost 20% of the votes cast two weeks ago.
According to the Moldovan Police, 39 million dollars were sent from Russia to purchase votes.
Police have suggested that Pobeda (Russian for ‘victory’), which is led from Moscow by fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, was behind the alleged vote buying scheme. EFE
mos/ks