Moldovans living abroad voted in record numbers in a presidential runoff that secured victory for pro-Western President Maia Sandu, in a pivotal race that pitted her against a Russia-friendly opponent amid ongoing claims of Russian interference,

Moldovans living abroad voted in record numbers in a presidential runoff that secured victory for pro-Western President Maia Sandu.

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.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu pulled out a decisive election victory in the former Soviet republic on Sunday, defying Russian efforts to disrupt the ballot and revive her push to steer the country into the European Union by the end of the decade.

President Biden lauds Moldovan incumbent Maia Sandu's reelection, saying "Russia sought to undermine" the country's democratic institutions for months.

The close election demonstrates the challenging path toward Western democracy for former Soviet states.

Maia Sandu said she would be president for all, after a run-off against a rival backed by a pro-Russian party.