Moldovans vote in presidential runoff amid allegations of Russian interference

Moldovans headed to the polls on Sunday in a runoff presidential election shadowed by allegations of Russian interference, raised by incumbent president.

Voting began at 7 am local time (0500GMT) and will continue until 9 pm (1900GMT) across 2,219 polling stations, including 231 locations abroad spanning 37 countries. According to Moldova's Central Election Commission, over 2,400 national and international observers have been accredited to monitor the vote.

The runoff follows the first round of voting held two weeks ago, where President Maia Sandu, viewed as pro-Western, fell short of securing a majority for a second term.

In Sunday's election, she faces a challenge from Alexandr Stoianoglo, Moldova's former prosecutor general.

The election coincides with a recent referendum where voters narrowly approved a constitutional amendment to set Moldova on a path toward European Union membership.

However, both the election and the referendum have been contentious, with Sandu accusing "criminal groups" allegedly backed by "foreign forces hostile to our national interests" of attempting to disrupt the country's democratic process to keep the country "trapped in uncertainty and instability."

"We have clear evidence that these criminal groups aimed to buy 300,000 votes-a fraud of unprecedented scale. Their objective was to undermine a democratic process. Their intention is to spread fear and panic in the society," Sandu stated on X.

The accusations have drawn a response from the Kremlin, with Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov challenging Sandu to produce concrete evidence of the alleged interference.